Fires destroy local church
POINT MARION – Two fires at St. Hubert Roman Catholic Church early Tuesday destroyed the small, wood frame building and left 108 parish families without a place of worship. Instead of pre-paring for the Thanksgiving Day celebration of the 93rd anniversary of the church, the Rev. Joseph Sredzinski spent Tuesday salvaging what few items he could from the remnants of his burned out church at 9 Sadler St.
Although the four outside walls of the wood frame building remained standing, by early afternoon, the green roof had completely collapsed onto the pews and altar and the charred steeple was leaning over. The bell tower was still perched atop the small section of the roof that remained standing.
“This is just so unexpected,” a shocked Rev. Sredzinski said.
A spokeswoman at the Fayette County 911 Center said the initial fire call was received at 12:42 a.m. and firefighters from Point Marion, Fairchance, Smithfield, Haydentown, Collier and Hopwood volunteer fire departments responded. When the second call of a rekindling was received at 7:11 a.m., firefighters from Point Marion and Fairchance responded, the spokeswoman said. A spokesman for the fire department was unavailable for comment.
State police fire marshal Trooper Jim Brownfield was investigating the cause and origin of the fire. While he didn’t reveal the cause, Brownfield said the initial fire began “in the rear left corner where the candle stand was (located).” He said there was no electric in the origin area but there was heat. While Brownfield said the damage from the initial fire was not severe, he said with the second fire, “everything collapsed down inside.”
Brownfield pointed out that the outside walls were bulging out. He said as per regulations the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms would also be responding to the scene, although the fire didn’t appear suspicious.
Rev. Sredzinski said the initial fire appeared to be contained over the baptistery and roof area. He said there was additional water damage, but none of the furniture was destroyed in the initial fire. He said before the firefighters left at 3:30 a.m., they took one good spray in the ceiling.
Rev. Sredzinski said he went into the church building at 4 a.m. and back inside at 6 a.m. to prepare to hold the daily 9 a.m. Mass by collecting his challis, cruets and book. At that time, Rev. Sredzinski said he was planning to hold Mass in the basement in Rosary Hall.
“After the initial fire, I thought we would clean it up and go on with life,” Rev. Sredzinski said.
Noticing that some linens had been damaged, Rev. Sredzinski said he took them next door to the rectory to wash them. Amid getting ready for Mass at 6:55 a.m., Rev. Sredzinski said someone knocked on his door and said, “Your church is on fire.”
Upon stepping out into the alley, Rev. Sredzinski said he saw flames shooting out of the roof near the church entrance.
“That’s what finished it,” he said. Rev. Sredzinski said he believed the cause of the fire was in the wiring. He said there are always candles burning in the church, and a piece of plexiglass is located under the candle stand to help prevent accidental fires.
Rev. Sredzinski, who became pastor of the parish in July 1999, said the parish was established in 1909. He said 108 families from Fayette, Greene and Monongalia, W.Va., counties are members of the church.
Spread out among the entryway to the rectory was a collection of water- and fire-damaged November misselettes. A pair of church charters were leaning against the wall.
Rev. Sredzinski said his home, which is located in very close proximity to the church and connected with a breezeway, didn’t receive any damage from the fire, but the smell of smoke had filtered inside. He was hopeful that the smell could be alleviated by “opening the windows and cleaning and cleaning.”
Even though he was dealing with the destruction of his church, Rev. Sredzinski said he was also very concerned about the neighbor on the other side of the church who has three grandchildren, Audrey Bohan.
Bohan, whose home of five years is located less than 10 feet from the church, said she was initially awakened by a neighbor screaming that the church was on fire and she “ran out right away.” She said she was asleep upstairs on the same side as the fire. But she said that fire was “nothing like this morning.”
After spending hours outside in her pajamas, Bohan said she finally returned inside and went back upstairs to get some sleep when she was awakened again. Bohan was able to go outside and move her minivan and sit on the street, where all she could do was watch the fire.
“I thought my house was going,” she said. “I just knew I was going to watch my house burn.”
Bohan said she saw the steeple topple over and stop short of crushing her porch.
“It’s been nerve-wracking,” she said, adding that the firefighters did a good job of containing the fire. Damage to her home was limited to a set of scorched shutters.
Amid ensuring security of the fire perimeter, Al DuBois, a member of the Point Marion Fire Police, said the first fire was bad enough but the rekindling really did the building in.
“This is my parish. I just feel terrible,” DuBois said.
Parishioner Jim Stoen was just one of many people who jumped in to try to lend a hand. Stoen said he was drinking coffee and watching television when he first heard about the fire. Stoen said he arrived at about 8:10 a.m.
“I never saw any flames, just smoke, but about all I could do was stand around and watch,” he said.
After the scene was cleared, Stoen said he helped to carry things out. Stoen, who helps count money with his wife and serves as a lector for the church, said he hopes the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg decides to rebuild the church.
“I’m really afraid the diocese won’t want to rebuild. We’re just a little thing in the middle of nowhere,” Stoen said. “But this town is so depressed, we need this church.”
“We’ll just have to make arrangements for short term and see what dioceses does in the long term,” Stoen said.
Tuesday afternoon Rev. Sredzinski announced that Mass will be held on Thanksgiving Day at 9 a.m. at the Lions Skating Center. Mass will also be held at the skating center this weekend: on Saturday at 5 p.m. and on Sunday at 8 and 11a.m.