RIVERDALE, Ga. — The Clayton County fire chief says he made the decision to remove 12 foster care kids from a church basement because their lives were in danger and for no other reason.
The church pastor at Now Faith Apostolic Church says he’s working to resolve the violations he was cited for and to try and get the kids back.
Channel 2’s Tom Jones was at Fire Chief Tim Sweat’s news conference Friday, where he shared what he called the facts of the ongoing issue.
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Sweat disputed the Rev. Dr. CH Braddy, who said fire crews came in the church and woke the kids up with flashlights, telling them they had to leave. He says that never happened.
Attania Jean-Funny, a concerned citizen, was on hand as Sweat detailed what led his department to remove 12 foster care kids who were living in the basement at the church.
“I think the kids should have never been in the church basement to begin with,” she said.
Sweat says the decision to remove the teens had nothing to do with the condition of the basement.
“This action was taken to ensure one thing - the immediate safety and wellbeing of the children,” he said.
He says paramedics arrived at the church July 29 after a child was injured in an altercation. Sweat says his crew noticed the church lacked very important fire safety systems.
The chief says the church also didn’t meet the requirements for a boarding care facility.
Fire Marshal Chris Cameron showed pictures That he says show there are no fire alarms on walls, no sprinkler systems, and boarded up windows that would make it difficult to get out of during an emergency.
“That’s why July 29th we made the responsible decision to remove these children from immediate danger,” he said.
“We’ve hired a fire management company,” said the Rev. Dr. CH Braddy, Now Faith Apostolic Church.
The church’s pastor says his team has worked 24/7 to resolve all the issues he was cited for. He called the mission “Code 12,” for the 12 teens who were removed.
“I will not sleep until we fulfill Code 12 and those kids are returned,” Braddy said.
Jean-Funny says it appears the pastor had good intentions.
“While it may have seemed like care, it was actually putting them in harm’s way,” she said.
The foster kids were moved here after their boarding home on Highway 138 flooded.
This was their emergency facility, but they had been here at least since October. They are back in the custody of the state.
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