An early morning blaze that damaged a church sanctuary has been ruled an arson, an investigator said Monday.

Oak Grove Baptist Church, on Oak Grove School Road near the Hasty community, was struck by an arsonist sometime early Sunday morning, according to a sheriff's report. The fire was reported at 2:25 a.m.

Firemen from Stewartsville, Laurinburg and Queheel fire departments spent three hours battling the blaze, extinguishing the flames around 5:30 a.m, according to the Laurinburg Fire Department. Stewartsville was the primary fire station.

The fire did an estimated $100,000 in damage, the sheriff's report said.

Sheriff Shep Jones said this is third time someone has damaged the church this month.

On June 9, someone broke out the windows in the church fellowship hall, he said. Then, on June 13, someone attempted to light fire to the front door of the church. Both matters are still under investigation.

Jones said he was shocked that an arsonist would attack a church.

"It was one of the saddest days in my law enforcement career to see that someone set fire to a church," Jones said. "You have mixed emotions when you see damage like that to a house of worship. Being a man of faith, it was really heartbreaking for me."

He said parishioners of the church canceled Sunday services and met in the fellowship halls with deputies.

"Hopefully we can make an arrest on this thing soon," he said.

The State Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting the sheriff's office in the investigation.

If you have any information on this fire, contact the Scotland County Sheriff's Office at 275-3385 or anonymously report your tip to Scotland Crime Stoppers at 291-3333.

Auto Recyclers

In a separate incident, Auto Recyclers on McColl Road in Laurinburg was destroyed by fire Saturday.

Firemen were called to the scene at 2:29 a.m., spending nearly three hours to get that fire under control.

When the first engines arrived, heavy rains were falling in a severe thunderstorm that hit the area. Laurinburg, Stewartsville, Laurel Hill and Gibson firefighters responded to the call.

Cathy Strickland, co-owner of the business, said the office was nearly destroyed in the fire.

"We think that it caught on fire during that real bad storm," she said.

She was awakened by a phone call from firefighters at the scene.

"It was shocking to get that call in the middle of the night," Strickland said. "It's something you don't realize can happen to you until it does."

She praised the work of the volunteer firemen who contained the fire.

"The fire department did a wonderful job," she said.

Their diligent work to control the blaze minimized the losses, Strickland said, protecting adjacent property owned by Auto Recyclers.

She hopes her business will be minimally affected by the temporary closing of that office.

"We have another location and we will be operating out of that one until we get that back running," Strickland said.

The other location is at 19841 Old Lumberton Road, behind Butler Manufacturing.

Damage was estimated at $200,000 by firefighters. Strickland says she's waiting for her insurance adjuster to evaluate the claim and determine the actual losses.

A fire report called it a total loss.

The two weekend fires made three straight early-morning fires, after the poultry house fire on Friday morning. A firefighter said the volunteers are exhausted from the frequent calls.