Don't Let It Blow Up

Protecting the Church from Explosions, both Intentional and Accidental

An article based on the Safety Member Certification training module "Safety Team Fundamentals."[1]

From the Bible

The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate ... And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly ... (Lamentations 1:4a; 2:6a).

And Jesus answering said unto him, "Seest thou these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down" (Mark 13:2).

Introduction

For a long time since the invention of gunpowder, there have been acts of blowing up buildings. A famous example is the unsuccessful plot by Guy Fawkes in 1605 to blow up the English Parliament.

Bombing targets include churches. There usually has been some sort of bias as the motive, but sometimes it might be a person with a passion for blowing things up. The primary exception to this is demolishing an old or extensively damaged structure (usually by implosion) to make room for a new one.

There have also been accidental explosions damaging or destroying church buildings. The usual culprit here is a leak of natural or propane gas. In the minority, but not to be disregarded, are boilers used in steam heating systems.

Since the mission of a church safety ministry is to protect both the people and property of the church, this should include protection against both intentional and accidental explosions.

In the News

Birmingham, Alabama, September 15, 1963 - Nineteen dynamite sticks were planted under outside steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church, an African-American church which was active in the Civil Rights movement. It was a target of the Ku Klux Klan, and four Klansmen planted the bomb.

When the bomb detonated, it killed four girls who were in a basement restroom on the other side of the wall. It also injured several other persons, at least 14 and perhaps as many as 22. The horror of this act galvanized public opinion on the side of basic civil rights and against racial terrorism.[2]

Las Cruces, New Mexico, August 2, 2015 - Bombs were planted at three Las Cruces churches on a Sunday morning: Holy Cross Catholic Church, Calvary Baptist Church, and First Presbyterian Church. The bomb in the mailbox of Calvary Baptist detonated at 8:20, just 10 minutes before the 8:30 service was to begin, and the one in a trash can at Holy Cross exploded at 8:40 while the priest was saying Mass. The bomb at First Presbyterian failed and was found days later. No one was injured in the two blasts, but the buildings were badly damaged.

The suspect was seen on a surveillance video, but has not been positively identified, even as late as a year ago. In June 2023, almost eight years after the bombings, a man with a ready-to-assemble pipe bomb was arrested outside another church. However, he did not appear to be the suspect in the previous bombings.[3][4][5][6]

El Monte, California, January 20, 2024 - A church in this city in Los Angeles County was bombed and vandalized. About 1:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning, an explosion awakened the neighborhood, and responding police found broken windows in a church with smoke drifting out. Grafitti was spray-painted on the walls. The church is known for the pastor's sermons on controversial social issues. Truthfully, less vocal churches and institutions across the country have also been vandalized and burned for their beliefs on social issues.[7]

Vermillion County, Illinois, December 30, 1997 and May 24, 1998 - Two churches in Vermillion County were bombed almost five months apart, the first in Oakwood and the second in Danville. One person is believed to be responsible for both bombings.

On December 30, 1997, a Sunday School teacher sensed a draft during a meeting of volunteers at the Oakwood Methodist Church and went out a side door to check it. He saw a green Igloo cooler and moved it. The motion triggered a pipe bomb inside. He was killed by the blast.

On May 24, 1998, in Danville, a bomb blast tore a 10' by 15' hole in the side of the First Assembly of God Church in Danville during the morning service. Thirty-four people were injured, many of them in their teens.

Four days after the second blast, investigators had identified a suspect in both bombings. When they knocked on the door of his residence, they heard an explosion in the closed garage. There they found the deceased body of the suspect, killed by his own pipe bomb. The motives are speculated as being related to the suspect's ex-wife attending the first church and the second church having denied him membership, presumably because of his schizophrenia.[8][9][10][11]

Woodstock, Illinois, October 9, 2023 - A gas leak on a Monday caused by contractor workers cutting into a gas line resulted in an explosion which leveled at least one home and severely damaged nine other structures, including a church and a school. The gas leak led to homes and businesses being evacuated, including the church and the school, about an hour before the blast. This evacuation spared many from injury.[12][13]

Hostyn, Texas, June 9, 2022 - Leaking gas at a church in Hostyn exploded when an elderly woman was lighting a candle before the 7 a.m. Mass. The resulting fire destroyed the church building. The woman was life-flighted to an Austin hospital, where she died two weeks later.[14][15]

Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, January 6, 2016 - A boiler in a church exploded. Five men were injured: three members of the church staff and two repairmen. One of the men required surgery.[16]

Intentional or Not

Bombings of churches may not be as common as more direct violence, such as shootings and stabbings, but they should not be off the radar. Historically, Black churches and Jewish synagogues in this country have been bombed more often than other places of worship. The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham was notable for the timing and the location, as well as the fact that the fatalities were girls, not adults. Now with a more general hostility toward religious institutions and violence arising from social issues, all churches are liable to be targets for bombings as well as for shootings and vandalism.

As for unintentional explosions, continuing hazards are leaks of natural and propane gas, oil furnaces, and steam-heat boilers - all used for heating and the gas also used for cooking and hot water. Hot water tanks may also explode, but usually not with the same amount of force, nor as a fire hazard.

Protection from explosions, intentional and accidental, involves both prevention and response.

Protection from Intentional Explosions

How can we protect the church from a bombing? By being proactively aware. Pay attention to threats. Some may be just hot air, but they may be real, so treat them as real. Report them.

1. Contact the team leader by sending a runner. Do not use a cell phone or the radio, since radio signals may trigger a detonator.
2. The Safety Director or team leader should have a bomb threat report form to be filled out.
3. If the threat is phoned in, ask the caller when it will explode and where it is located.
4. The team leader will work with church leadership to determine if there is to be an evacuation.

Heighten the lookout for anything which might be a bomb. Before the Boston Marathon bombings, few people would have taken notice of a pressure cooker where a crowd was gathered. The "Safety Team Fundamentals" class stresses that a safety team member must take note of anything which seems out of the ordinary, out of place. This is especially true while on patrol, outside or inside.

Suppose that you do see an odd package or box, or someone acting strangely. If you find a suspicious box, don't handle it - see what happened to the teacher in Oakwood. Also, handling the object may blur fingerprints on it, as well as adding your own prints and DNA.

Actively monitor outside activity. The Danville, IL, bomber was able to plant a pipe bomb between an air conditioning unit and the outside wall of the church. We do not know when this was done. The timer was set for during the morning service. If there had been a patrol before the service, then this was missed. Team members on patrol should check obvious hiding places, such as behind an AC unit. More than bombs can be hidden there, such as burglary tools or bricks.

First thing on a Sunday morning, check the footage of exterior surveillance cameras. A camera activated by a motion detector would expedite the scanning of footage. Then you would know to look for that time stamp on the continuous recording to get more detail.

If a bomb is suspected, call police. Don't try to move the suspicious object, but evacuate the location. Do take a photo of it to show what it looks like. If it does detonate, the photo would be valuable evidence. The training course has directions for talking with the authorities:

• When you contact the authorities, be prepared to describe exactly what you observed, including:
• Who or what you saw
• When you saw it
• Where it occurred
• Why you believe it's suspicious
• Stay on the line until the emergency dispatcher hangs up
• Be sure to file a written Incident Report.

The Danville church bombing brings up an issue often considered in relation to an active shooter incident: threat assessment.

The identified bomber was known to the church, since they had denied his application for membership. According to those who knew him, he resented that rejection. Without a record of the denial and the reasons for it, we can only conjecture. An evangelical church, such as the Assemblies of God, expects a member to have an active personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He reportedly believed he was rejected because of his schizophrenia, but I believe the mental condition caused him to not recognize the real reason his application for membership was turned down.

As far as I know, no threats were made to the church itself. The Internet and social media did not yet exist in 1998, so that was neither a way to keep track of the person nor a way for him to express his intentions or disposition and be discovered. However, today we can look out for a person who has a grudge against the church by using the Internet and social media. A person with the bomber's mental illness could be viewed as a potential threat, and a threat assessment team could follow him to see if there are any real and imminent threats.

Protection from Accidental Explosions

The two most common causes of accidental explosions in commercial buildings, schools, and churches are gas and boilers.

Gas

First, the church's heating system should be inspected every year. If it uses natural or propane gas, all the gas lines should also be checked. If any fittings are questionable, then the gas is turned off and the fittings replaced. All should be sealed to be leak-proof. Gas may also have other uses in the church, for hot water and for cooking.

When the furnace is checked before the heating season, it should be cleaned and any needed repairs or adjustments made. Be aware of how the furnace, water heater, kitchen range, and any other gas appliances are working and have them fixed when needed.

If any members of the congregation smell gas - or think they do - they should report it immediately. If the smell of gas is in the neighborhood, it's just as urgent to report it. A gas explosion is also likely to start fires, as it happened in Woodstock[13] and Hostyn[14].

Boilers

Many churches in older buildings have - or have inherited - steam heat. This heat comes from a boiler. Steam boilers build up some pressure, and need to be properly maintained. Too much pressure or not properly relieving the pressure can lead to an explosion.

Only a qualified person should operate the boiler. As an example, a church in Seattle bought a surplus public school building which had steam heat. Fortunately, a member of the congregation was a licensed operating engineer, so the church had the boiler maintained and operated without first having to hire an outside person.[17]

The Church Safety Ministry cannot directly protect the church from accidental explosions, but they can work with leadership and custodians to guard against gas leaks and over-pressurized boilers.

Conclusion

Explosions are potentially very destructive, and can demolish a large building in seconds. A Church Safety Ministry should lead the congregation in protecting the church from both intentional and accidental explosions.

Training Notes

The Safety Member Certification training module "Safety Team Fundamentals" has instructions for handling bomb threats and suspicious packages. This is the first of eight training modules. All are taken online as Self-Paced Training. A person taking all the classes and passing the test for each will be certified for two years.

The Church Security Guide has an article Church Safety Team Basics which is an overview of information in the "Fundamentals" training class. It is also available on the training site as Safety Team | Mastering the Basics.[18][19][20]

References

1. Kris Moloney, "Safety Team Fundamentals," Safety Member Certification, Sheepdog Church Security, © 2020 [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/bundles/safety-member-certification].
2. "16th Street Baptist Church bombing," Wikipedia, last edited July 3, 2024 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Street_Baptist_Church_bombing].
3. CBS Interactive Staff, "Explosions rock two Las Cruces, N.M., churches," CBS News, Updated August 2, 2015 [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/explosions-reported-at-two-las-cruces-new-mexico-churches/].
4. CBN Staff, "New Mexico Churches Bombed, Police Hunt for Clues," CBN, August 3, 2015 [https://www2.cbn.com/video/news/new-mexico-churches-bombed-police-hunt-clues].
5. Jonathan Mejia Thu, "Las Cruces man pipe bomb arrest unrelated to 2015 unresolved church bombings," KFOX 14, June 1, 2023 [https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/las-cruces-man-pipe-bomb-arrest-unrelated-to-2015-unresolved-church-bombings].
6. John Rutledge, "Civility the right response to church bombings, Baptist pastor says," Baptist Standard, August 5, 2015 [https://www.baptiststandard.com/news/baptists/civility-the-right-response-to-church-bombings-baptist-pastor-says/].
7. Danielle Wallace, "FBI investigates 'IED attack' at California church targeted by protesters over anti-LGBTQ views," Fox News, published January 24, 2021 [https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-california-church-ied-attack-bombing-anti-lgbtq-blm-views].
8. The News-Gazette photographers, "Vermilion County church bombings 20 years later," The News-Gazette, May 20, 2018. Updated Jun 21, 2019 [https://www.news-gazette.com/news/vermilion-county-church-bombings-20-years-later/collection_d9936630-fcfe-5625-8f3a-da59e86e1e77.html].
9. "Officials Say a Bomb Caused Explosion at Church in Illinois," The New York Times, May 25, 1998 [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/26/us/officials-say-a-bomb-caused-explosion-at-church-in-illinois.html].
10. Rebecca Reisner, "Richard Dean White's Explosive Crimes," Forensic Files Now, July 31, 2020 [https://forensicfilesnow.com/index.php/2020/07/31/richard-dean-whites-explosive-crimes/].
11. CBS News Staff, "Blast Kills Church Bomb Suspect," CBS News, May 28, 1998 [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/blast-kills-church-bomb-suspect/].
12. Kris Habermehl of CBS News, "Natural Gas Leak, House Explosion Near St Mary Catholic Church at Lincoln Ave and Tryon St in Woodstock," Arlington Cardinal News, October 9, 2023 [https://www.arlingtoncardinal.com/2023/10/natural-gas-leak-house-explosion-near-st-mary-catholic-church-at-lincoln-ave-and-tryon-st-in-woodstock/].
13. Country Herald Staff, "Explosion in Illinois: 10 Buildings, Including School, Church, Severely Damaged After Gas Leak," Country Herald, October 9, 2023 [https://www.countryherald.com/news/explosion-in-illinois-10-buildings-including-school-church-severely-damaged-after-gas-leak/].
14. Drew Knight, "Queen of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church catches fire in Hostyn, Texas," KVUE, June 9, 2022, Updated June 14, 2022 [https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/queen-of-the-holy-rosary-catholic-church-catches-fire-in-hostyn-texas/269-67cf022f-f214-4b4b-a7f3-5072e468db07].
15. Josh Blaschke, "Woman Injured in Hostyn Church Explosion Dies," KWHI, June 21, 2022 [https://kwhi.com/2022/06/21/woman-injured-in-hostyn-church-explosion-dies/].
16. WCPO Staff, "Man needs surgery after church boiler explosion," WCPO, January 6, 2016 [https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/miamitown/several-injured-in-crossroads-church-boiler-explosion].
17. Nile Thompson and Carolyn J. Marr, "Seattle Public Schools, 1862-2000: Fairview School," from "Building for Learning: Seattle Public School Histories, 1862-2000 (Seattle: Seattle Public Schools, 2002)," accessed from History Link, July 12, 2024 [https://www.historylink.org/File/10505].
18. Kris Moloney, Church Security Guide, Sheepdog Church Security, © Copyright 2018 [https://sheepdogchurchsecurity.net/church-security-guide/].
19. Kris Moloney, "Church Safety Team Basics," Church Security Guide, Sheepdog Church Security, © Copyright 2018 [https://sheepdogchurchsecurity.net/safety-team-academy].
20. Kris Moloney, "Safety Team | Mastering the Basics," Sheepdog Articles, Church Security Guide, Sheepdog Church Security, 2023 [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/pages/security-articles?p=church-safety-team-basics].