Latest News (Thursday, 5/23)

It has been a week since the fire.  Here is the latest news about the church building.

  • The cause is still undetermined.  The fire marshals, both state and local, as well as independent cause-and-origin experts have thus far been stumped in trying to identify the origin of the blaze.  They are continuing to investigate and collaborate.  We hope to have a cause identified soon.
  • The initial investigation from the structural engineer is hopeful.  He believes that the heavily damaged roof above the tabernacle can indeed be rebuilt.  He appeared to be confident that the integrity of the rest of the building is sound.  He repeatedly complemented the maintainers of the building for the great care that has obviously been put into our church for many years, as well as the original builders who built such a sound and sturdy building.
  • The priest vestments and the altar server albs were returned from dry cleaning yesterday.  The choir robes, altar cloths and linens, and various decoration material were sent off for dry cleaning.
  • Temporary roofing is continuing on the church.  This is the third day for the crew as they try to patch the holes caused by the fire and the fire fighters as they tried to put out the blaze.
  • A stained glass window expert came out on Tuesday to look at the damaged windows.  Two stained glass windows were broken by the fire fighters: the left-most window above the sanctuary, displaying the Holy Family; and the tall decorative window above the side baptistery.  With the recovered pieces of stained glass, and pictures of the original glass work, she was very confident that she could restore the windows.  Other broken windows, near the top of the Church, are not stained glass, and thus can be repaired more easily.
  • Items from the sanctuary are being removed today, cleaned, and put into storage in the trailer very kindly on loan to us from Pelletier Builders.  Most everything from the sacristy looked to be in good shape.  The floor is damaged and needs to be repaired, but no fire damage has been observed in the sacristy (all damage is smoke and/or water).
  • No one from the parish can enter the building yet.  Until the roof above the tabernacle has been replaced and its structure solidified, the structure of the building is deemed unsafe.  Neither Fr. Red, nor any member of the parish staff, nor anyone on the parish council has been allowed to enter the main church body.  We are all anxious and eager to take a look at our building, but we have been strictly warned to not enter the building.  As we do not want to risk our own health and safety, or damage the ongoing investigation, or violate our insurance agreement, it is vital that all parishioners adhere to this policy of staying out of the church building.