Wind-fed blaze destroys landmark Palmyra church

PALMYRA – St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, a 170-year-old landmark high on a ridge overlooking this community, was destroyed Wednesday night by a spectacular fire fed by swift winds.

One firefighter was injured when he fell about 12 feet from a firetruck.

Firefighters from Pittsfield, Newport, Corinna, St. Albans, Hartland, and Skowhegan fought the blaze, which was already roaring through the roof of the church at the corner of Route 2 and Golf Course Road when firefighters first arrived just after 7 p.m.

The church roof was in the process of being reshingled and flames quickly consumed huge green tarps stretched across the west side of the roof. Firefighters made countless trips back and forth inside the church, saving what they could including crucifixes, candlesticks, stained-glass windows and even the collection plates. A pile of church relics grew at the base of the town’s veterans memorial on St. Martin’s front lawn.

“God bless them,” parishioner Frank Harding of Newport said when he saw the items that the firefighters had saved.

Dozens of Palmyra residents gathered across the street, watching the fire in disbelief.

“I have lived on this road all my life,” Annette Braley, 34, said as she stood near South Ridge Road. “This is one of the saddest days this town has seen. I just can’t believe it.”

Braley said the fire would be particularly hard on community residents as they celebrate the town’s bicentennial this summer.

Harding said the church, which had about 35 active members, had just recently received a new priest, Rev. Levering Sherman Jr., and an invocation and reception had been planned for next Sunday.

Stiff winds blew embers and sparks throughout the neighborhood, igniting a nearby barn. Corinna firefighters, who had been standing by in the driveway, quickly extinguished it. Foam was spread on the roof of a home across the street from the church to prevent its roof from catching fire.

One firefighter was transported by ambulance to Sebasticook Valley Hospital about 9:15 p.m. with injuries he suffered in a fall from a truck. His name was not released.

St. Martin’s parish hall – the site of many strawberry festivals and church suppers – which is next door to the church, was not damaged in the fire.

At least two firefighters at the scene were also parishioners – Pittsfield Fire Chief Bernard Williams and Newport Captain Chris Lindsay.

“This is horrible,” Lindsay said. “It’s the second time I’ve been here for a fire.”

The church’s steeple was struck by lightning 15 years ago, on June 28, 1991, and Lindsay also fought that fire. Many in the crowd remembered the fears they felt at the time that the entire church would be consumed.

Those fears were realized Wednesday night. Braley said she heard sirens at her nearby home and her first thought was “I hope it isn’t the church.” Watching fire consume the steeple that had been replaced after the 1991 fire, Braley wiped away tears. She said she had seen many weddings, Easter Sunday celebrations and other events at the landmark church.

“This town will not be the same,” she said.

Harding was already looking ahead, however. “This is the toughest congregation I have ever been a part of,” he said. “We will survive.”