Blaze guts Caribou’s Lutheran church

CARIBOU – The congregation of Caribou’s Faith Lutheran Church managed to hold its Sunday services at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, one of several local churches that volunteered facilities after a fire destroyed the Lutheran church Friday night.

Nearly 40 firefighters from four fire departments fought the fire into Saturday morning.

The Lutheran church on Jacob’s Avenue went up in flames late Friday night. Preliminary results indicate the cause of the fire may have been an electrical problem in the furnace, according to Pastor Burnam Morrell on Sunday.

Morrell said the exact cause of the fire was not certain, but a technician would be brought in early this week to inspect the furnace.

The fire gutted most of the cellar level of the building, collapsing part of the floor in the sanctuary into the cellar. The area at the front of the church also was destroyed. The remainder of the main floor was damaged by water and smoke.

Outside the building Saturday, passers-by could see that most of the windows had been broken or blown out in the fire. Glass was strewn around a lawn area. Smoke and fire damage was visible on exterior walls at the front and rear of the A-frame structure. There were also holes in the roof.

According to Capt. Stephen McDuffie of the Caribou Fire Department, the fire was reported by a neighbor at 10:44 p.m. Friday. Firefighters had the fire under control by midnight, and were clear of the area by 1:10 a.m.

The state Fire Marshal’s Office had an investigator on the scene Saturday afternoon.

“This is a very bad blow to our small congregation,” Morrell said Saturday morning. “It’s a complete loss. It’s unbelievable.

“This is almost like losing a member of the family,” the pastor said. “We will have our regular service tomorrow.”

Three area churches, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Gray Memorial United Methodist Church and St. Mary’s Catholic Church, contacted Morrell by Saturday afternoon to offer their facilities.

Morrell said his congregation has around 20 members. The church was built in 1959. Morrell has been involved with the church since then.

The pastor said the church was insured, but he was unsure about its future. He said he had to talk to the bishop, the insurance company and members of the congregation before a decision is made.

McDuffie said the interior of the structure was gutted. He said the cellar area was in flames when firefighters arrived.

Residents surveyed the bleak scene Saturday morning. Some offered their services. The minister’s daughter-in-law Donna Doherty and her daughter Crystal Doherty walked around the exterior looking for items to salvage.

“This is terrible,” she said. “We are just a small congregation, doing everything we can just to make ends meet. What an awful thing.”

Tears welled in Doherty’s eyes as she gathered church books and songbooks scattered around the foundation.

“It’s the least we can do, to offer our facilities,” said the Rev. Fred Irving of St. Mary’s Catholic Parish. “Our parishioners know how this feels, as they have lived through two fires through the years.

“If we can be of help to them, we should,” he said Saturday morning, standing in the driveway looking at the destroyed church. “It’s the least we can do.”

The front steps of the church, the lawn and parking lot were encrusted in ice Saturday morning, a testimony to the cold night, and the large amount of water used in the effort to stop the blaze.