10th Baptist church fire in Alabama is ruled arson

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A weekend fire at a Baptist church was ruled arson Sunday, the 10th in a recent string of blazes set at churches in rural Alabama, authorities said.

The Saturday afternoon blaze severely damaged the Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church in northwest Alabama, near the Mississippi line.

"It's definitely arson," said Ragan Ingram, a spokesman for the state fire marshal's office, which was investigating whether the fire was connected to the other blazes that have destroyed or damaged nine churches since Feb. 2.

Saturday's fire was the only one that wasn't set in the pre-dawn hours.

Investigators have said they don't know a motive, but there is no racial pattern. Five of the churches had white congregations and five black. All were Baptist, the dominant faith in the region, and mostly in isolated country settings.