| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Worshippers unhurt as fire damages Chino mosque
Saturday April 19, 2003CHINO, Calif. (AP) An electrical fire at the Baitul Hameed Mosque on Saturday afternoon forced the evacuation of 300 worshippers gathered for a memorial service, but no injuries were reported.
A faulty light fixture in the kitchen was the cause of the blaze that caused more than $700,000 in damages, said Anthony Landin, a spokesman for the Chino Valley Independent Fire District.
No one was injured in the blaze that started about noon and spread quickly through the attic, Landin said.
The mosque is affiliated with the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam, which believes that 19th century Indian-born Muslim cleric Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the messiah mentioned in the Quran.
The worshippers had gathered for a memorial service for the Ahmadiyya's current leader, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, who died in London earlier in the day.
Mosque General Secretary Anwer Khan said the people exited swiftly from the building after the alarm sounded.
``The only thing we saw was the smoke,'' Khan said.
Chino is located about 40 miles east of Los Angeles.
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