NATION : Fire Levels Jim Bakker Mansion
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TEGA CAY, S.C. — The five-story lakeside mansion once occupied in lavish style by jailed television evangelist Jim Bakker and his family burned to the ground early today.
Police Cpl. Russell Case, the first person on the scene, said the report of a fire at the split-level home, which is now owned by a New Jersey businessman, came from a neighbor at about 2:15 a.m.
“When I got there, the entire roof was already on fire and flames were going 30 feet high,” Case said. The house was believed to have been unoccupied, he added.
The mansion featured three kitchens, a fish-shaped pool and 25 closets that were put to good use by Tammy Faye Bakker, who once was depicted as the Imelda Marcos of the evangelical set.
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