Parishioners of a DeKalb County church narrowly escaped injury Sunday afternoon when a fire broke out behind the sanctuary at the Kidisty Mariam Orthodox Church in Decatur.
More than 100 members crowded along both sides of Midway Road.
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“We were not sure if everybody got out. It was thick. The smoke was really bad," said Ghenet Adnemichael, a member of the church.
The service had already ended, but members say most of the congregation had gathered in the church's fellowship hall in the basement when they smelled smoke.
They’re grateful no one was hurt when a fire raced through a back room of the building.
Firefighters said when they arrived parishioners were running out of the building but members say their pastor ran back in to retrieve an important church keepsake.
“He went inside and took out the Ark of the Covenant. So he took out the most important thing. The symbol for our church. So today he is a hero," Adnemichael said.
DeKalb fire rescue kept the flames confined to the one room but officials say there is a lot of smoke damage throughout the church.
According to parishioners, a teenaged member of the church actually grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to fight the blaze himself before the crews arrived, but the smoke forced him to retreat.
Now, investigators are trying to find the cause of the blaze
“Whenever there is a church fire we don't take it lightly. We have a couple of investigators here to determine where and how the fire started," said Capt. Eric Jackson with DeKalb County Fire Rescue.
Investigators say so far there's nothing that indicates arson, but when there's a fire at a house of worship it's taken very seriously.