PHOTO BY JIM LOWE For the past nine years, George and Suzanne Wheeler's Lometa residence has been the headquarters of their ministries, too. Right foreground: Capt. Lewis Bridges of the Lometa Volunteer Fire Department assisted at the scene. A Lometa missionary couple's headquarters and residence were damaged by fire Thursday.

The fire began in the attic above an upstairs bedroom when electrical wiring shorted, County Fire Marshal Gene Harrison said.

George and Suzanne Wheeler were not at their house at 201 W. Cherry St. in Lometa when fire broke out, said Harrison, who conducted an investigation after the blaze. The Lometa couple were in Lampasas when fire struck.

The fire was reported to the Lampasas County Sheriff's Department at 12:35 p.m., which in turn notified the Lampasas Fire Department and Lometa Volunteer Fire Department.

For 22 years, Wheeler pastored Lometa Full Gospel Church at the location. For the past nine years, it has served as the headquarters of Wheeler's organization, Souls for Christ Ministries, and his wife's ministry, Daughters of Jabez.

Firemen from Lampasas and Lometa were still on the scene as Mrs. Wheeler stood in front of the residence. "I was worried about my puppy, and they got her out," she said, as she stroked her poodle.

Added Mrs. Wheeler: "No one was hurt. Everything can be replaced. God was with us on this. It's God's building."

Bob McClinton, who lives nearby, said he received a telephone call earlier from fellow Lometan Gaylon Bruton, who was headed into town from the south.

"He said, 'Flames are coming out of the roof. Call someone.'" But just then, Bruton saw fire trucks headed toward the residence.

While fire damaged the attic and upstairs bedroom, smoke and water damage also were reported elsewhere upstairs. Some of the downstairs portion of the house sustained water damage as well.

"I can't say it's a total loss, because it's not," Harrison said. "It's a partial loss."

The upstairs bedroom sustained heavy damage, he said.

The LFD contacted the Red Cross about possibly rendering assistance. The house was not insured, Harrison said.