We appear to be entering a new phase of development. Up until now, we have been engaged in "Emergency Clean-up." This consists of activities meant to deal with the immediate results of the fire. Primarily, this has included removing debris from the church, and removing all damaged items (such as the carpet, the pew cushions, the hymnals, etc.). As part of this effort, our clean-up crew has also been scrubbing and cleaning salvaged materials. These efforts have been the "first response" activities in the church's restoration.
We are now moving into a new phase which we are calling "Emergency Repair." In this phase, contractors will perform vital work to reinforce the structure of the church. This work needs to be done before the bigger job of rebuilding occurs. At this point, two areas of the church are of concern, structurally: the area of investigation (around the tabernacle) and the ceiling in the sanctuary and throughout the church.
- The area of investigation still has no roof, and although it has been mostly cleared of debris, is still a danger zone. In this area, the pillar that sits between the tabernacle and the ambo (the pulpit) is very damaged by fire. As the pillar provides support, a temporary support beam must be put in place for stabilization. The repair of this area is of critical importance so that we can close the roof up in all this rain! (The clean-up crews have been doing an admirable job in trying to keep everything dry!)
- The ceiling above the sanctuary has fallen in part. Fortunately, the scaffolding has been there to collect it, so that it did not fall on the altar or anything else in the sanctuary. This ceiling needs to be pulled down, either in-part or in-full, in order to prevent further damage to the scaffolding or damage to the floor below.
Yesterday, the engineer and the architect were both onsite with Robin (our insurance representative) and were making plans for how to engage in the Emergency Repair work. Additionally, the builders who will be doing the Emergency Repair work (the same ones who built the Parish Center), were onsite looking around. We hope that this construction will begin very shortly. And it is critical to note that this repair work must take place BEFORE the actual reconstruction work of the church; this is preparatory work for the greater construction to come.
And while it is not specifically fire-related, here is a picture of the church as it originally looked, before the renovation of the 1950's whose pictures we shared last week. This is taken from a postcard that was available to parishioners.
