Fire at historic Fayetteville church ruled unintentional, accidental in nature
FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- Members of the St. Joseph's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville feared the worst after a fire swept through their place of worship Tuesday evening.
"I can't believe this is happening," said church member Don LaHuffman. "There is so much history in this structure."
In all, it was 140 years of history that members feared was going up in smoke and flames before their eyes.
"With a wood structure, we knew that if something like this happened it would go up like a tinderbox," said LaHuffman.
Firefighters poured thousands of gallons of water on the structure as flames broke through the roof near the church's entrance and raced along the historic building.
Heavy smoke boiled up from the wood timbers and shingles. The smoke was so thick at times that firefighters said they could barely see each other. A layer of heavy smoke even settled over part of downtown Fayetteville.
Firefighters quickly maxed out the water pressure from nearby hydrants and had to call the Public Works Commission to increase pressure in the hydrant lines. It took crews about 90 minutes to knock the fire down.
As the smoke cleared, church members cried and counted their blessings that their beloved church was still standing.
"Thank God for the firemen that put it out," said church member Carol Graham, "and thank You, God for sparing the rest."
Most of the fire damage was contained to the roof, attic area with smoke and water damage in the chapel. There were no injuries during the incident.
"Praise the Lord! Thank you, Jesus. It's not that bad," Teddra Smith, the pastor of St. Joseph's Episcopal Church said Wednesday morning. "They said that's only water damage, so that part didn't burn. Those beautiful Tiffany windows that are over the altar, they didn't get damaged, but the other ones did."
The stained glass windows, along with an organ, have been inside the historic church since 1873, when it was established.
Adjoining buildings on the church grounds looked okay, after they burned during the last fire about a century ago.
"The bell tower, we usually use on Sunday mornings, and we won't be able to use it right now," Rev. Smith said. "We really won't be able to have service right now, [but] we're the church -- the people!"
Church members said they will rebuild.
Fire investigators have ruled that the fire "appears to be unintentional, accidental in nature." They could not rule out discarded smoking materials as what started the blaze, which began near an entrance off of Moore Street.
