PHILMONT — A raging fire consumed a 133-year-old church at the center of Philmont Tuesday night, as congregation members and many village residents looked on.
It was the fourth structure fire in a year for this village of 1,480 residents; all occurred within a short distance of each other, and only one building was occupied.
The Second Reformed Church of Claverack is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year, but the building itself dates back to 1879.
The fire broke out, reportedly in the bell tower, about 6:25 p.m. and was still being battled three hours later. It was finally knocked down at 9:55 p.m.
Firefighters were spraying water into the flaming roof. Vinyl siding partially contained the fire and helped to make access difficult. Entrance through the front of the building was impossible because of the danger that the two-ton bell in the steeple at the front of the building would fall.
Congregation members kept returning to the same theme: That the congregation is not in the building, but in the members.
David Sherman, 68, a deacon in the church, has been a member since he was 13 or 14, he said, describing the congregation as “very family-oriented. Everybody loves everybody — strangers are welcome.”
Jars of homemade spaghetti sauce for the church’s 175th anniversary celebration dinner, planned for September, were burning in the church kitchen.
The church is famous for its Election Day dinners and other free dinners for the public, said Consistory Treasurer Linda Guntert.
“We had a beautiful, round stained-glass window, Jesus praying in the garden,” she said. “We’ll still celebrate. The church is the people.”
“At least nobody was hurt,” said her daughter, Wendy. “It’s amazing the number of firefighters that have come, their quick response. They’re working their butts off.”
Linda Guntert said she had to go and find 90-year-old Betty Boswell, a member for the past 75 years, and break the news to her, if she didn’t already know.
“It’s a bit upsetting,” said Betty Sherman, wife of David. “But we are the church ... but I’d like it if they could save that stained-glass window. That was the first thing you looked at, that gorgeous stained-glass window, Jesus praying by the stone.”
Opinions differed as to whether the window had survived the fire; its location made it hard to tell.
The Rev. Dan Herrick said the church has already had an offer from the nearby St. Mark’s Episcopal Church to worship there Sunday.
“Churches don’t fare well in fires,” said Herrick, who is also a firefighter.
County Emergency Medical Services Coordinator P.J. Keeler said old churches like this often have oil-soaked floors.
“Fortunately, all our membership records were computerized,” Herrick said. “Unfortunately, all the historical records are sitting in a cabinet back there.
“My feeling is we’ll rise above this and rebuild,” he said.
Several congregation members watching the conflagration, such as Darcy Krein, were originally members of the Mellenville Reformed Church; the two churches merged in 1969, and the Mellenville building was sold in 1983.
The home of Claverack Supervisor Robin Andrews is adjacent to the church and was spared, aside from smoke and a flooded basement from water being used to fight the fire.
“It’s so sad,” she said about the fire. “It (was) a beautiful church. It’s one of our historic structures. It’s a great loss.”
Andrews said she returned home just when firefighters began arriving at the scene.
“It looked like the steeple was on fire,” she said. When firefighters went into the church, she said, they found a fast-moving fire on the floor.
Andrews credited the quick response of a large contingent of local firefighters in putting out the flames.
“The firefighters did a great job,” said Andrews. This was the fourth structure fire in Philmont over the past year. “It is very upsetting.”
Mayor Skip Speed said, “It’s bad enough to lose a house, but to lose a church is heart-breaking. We don’t need this in our town, when we’re just starting to come back. This is a kick in the shins.”
By 8:45 p.m., the nearby Cumberland Farms market had run out of coffee, and had no water to make more, as it was all going to the hydrants and pumper trucks.
Philmont and Mellenville firefighters were first on the scene, along with Greenport Rescue Squad. Mutual aid was then supplied by A.B. Shaw of Claverack, Greenport, West Ghent and Churchtown, as well as Hudson, which brought the indispensable ladder truck.
Meanwhile, Austerlitz and Hillsdale were standing by at Pine Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Catskill was standing by at Hudson, Craryville at Philmont and Ghent at Mellenville.
Stottville firefighters were standing by in their own quarters for Greenport, Greenport had apparatus at the Claverack Fire House, Livingston had apparatus at Churchtown, and Germantown had units standing by for Greenport.
The Fire Coordinator’s Office and the Office of Emergency Management were also on the scene.
State Trooper Brendan Keeler said the State Police and the Office of Fire Prevention and Control are investigating the cause of the fire.
It was nearly a year ago that the 1920s-era home of Megara Cassin, on Summit Lake, burnt to the ground Jan. 30, 2012. Then three months later, a vacant house and barn on Summit Street burnt down, endangering several houses in the vicinity.
Summit Street was the scene yet again on Dec. 20, when a two-story, unoccupied home at 54 Summit St., in the process of being renovated, was destroyed by fire.
Church Street is just a block away from Summit Street.
***
To reach reporter John Mason, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2500, or e-mail [email protected] Nathan Mayberg contributed to this story.
Copyright 2013 Johnson Newspaper CorporationDistributed by Newsbank, Inc. All Rights Reserved
