FORT SMITH -- An elderly Buddhist priest died in an early morning fire Thursday that destroyed a north Fort Smith temple, a fire official said.
Fire Marshal Ronnie Rogers said the cause of the blaze at the Wat Lao Buddrahm temple, 2205 High St., was under investigation by the Fort Smith Fire Department. He said he believed the fire started in the main worship hall, where services were held.
Spokesman for the temple's 500 households, Virapol Sengmanivong, said Thursday the 68-year-old priest, identified as Souphonh Inthalanqsinh, had been assigned to the temple since it was built in the early 1990s.
He said the worship hall was used for daily services and for teaching by the priests. Its elaborate decorations were fashioned by one of the priests of the local Buddhist community.
Larger services are held in the community center next to the temple complex, Sengmanivong said.
A metal statue of Buddha inside the worship center melted in the fire, he said. It took several men to lift the large lump that remained into a pickup Thursday morning.
About 20 members of the Buddhist community were on-site Thursday to check on the damage and to begin the cleanup. Several statues and ornaments salvaged from the charred remains, discolored from heat and ash, were leaned against the side of an adjacent building before being loaded into pickups and taken away for safe keeping.
Sengmanivong said some of the statues were brought over from Laos and Thailand.
Inthalanqsinh, who lived in the temple, was found on the floor of a bedroom, Rogers said. The bedroom was one of a few rooms -- another bedroom, office and kitchenette -- off the worship hall. Rogers said the priest's body was sent to the state Medical Examiner's office for autopsy.
Inthalanqsinh was one of two priests living at the temple The other priest is in Laos, he said.
The Fire Department got the alarm at 12:18 a.m. Thursday. Rogers said he believed a passer-by spotted the flames and reported the fire.
Firefighters found the temple engulfed, with flames burning through the roof, he said.
NW News on 03/06/2015