A fire at a McAlester church closed a polling location Tuesday.
The First Assembly of God was the polling spot for two McAlester precincts, but after the fire broke out around 5:30 a.m., the polling site for Precinct 7 and Precinct 40 for the state’s primary elections Tuesday was moved to the Pittsburg County Election Board office, 109 E. Carl Albert Parkway, according to Pittsburg County Election Board officials.
According to the McAlester News-Capital, Fire Chief Brett Brewer said the church is likely to be a total loss with most of the structure burned. He said the church’s steeple fell into the blaze, the newspaper reported.
He said no foul play was suspected as of Tuesday afternoon.
Sara Abel, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Dallas Field Division’s public information officer, said its agents were on the scene because the agency is federally mandated to investigate church fires.
