Jan. 31--BEVERLY -- No one was injured, but a spectacular fire at the First Assembly of God Church at Bridge Street and Dolloff Avenue did significant damage yesterday.
Firefighters arriving on the scene five minutes after the call at 4:40 p.m. saw little, Deputy Chief Peter O'Connor said. "There was nothing showing."
Moments later, however, "You could see fireballs erupting in the church. You could see nothing but orange. ... There was a lot of fire."
Inside, the intensity of the fire and a cloud of black smoke blew open the doors separating the church from its front lobby.
The fire's cause and starting point are still undetermined, but the flames were concentrated in the larger section to the rear of the building, the area set aside by the largely Brazilian congregation for worship. There was no one inside the church when the fire broke out, according to the Fire Department.
Firefighters worked inside to pour water on the interior, though O'Connor, worried about the safety of his crew, nearly called for a retreat.
"You win or lose a fire in the first five or 10 minutes," he said. "I was very impressed with the way our guys came in."
Those early arriving crews acted decisively to get the fire under control. Within an hour and a half, it was substantially "knocked down."
The fire was stopped with the assistance of three Beverly engines and one truck, as well as engines from Salem and Danvers and a ladder truck from Manchester.
The battle continued for nearly four hours in frigid weather, as firefighters worked to seek out hidden pockets of flame. The ladder from one truck spanned 20 feet of parking lot, giving men access to the roof above the lobby. They worked with power tools to cut a hole in the still-smoking roof.
Beyond that point, smoke continued to pour from church windows while spectators collected on Bridge Street, which was partially closed to traffic.
"Structurally, the building looks OK," O'Connor said later, adding that it will be a big loss for the owners nevertheless. The lingering effects of smoke and water are everywhere.
"This is where they go to worship," he said. "These were pretty distraught people."
A "fire watch" team remained on-site until late in the evening, observing to make certain the blaze was definitely out. Investigators from the city and the state fire marshal will now begin an investigation to try to determine the cause.
Firefighters from Swampscott, Hamilton and Wenham backed up the Beverly teams as part of mutual aid. Roger Baker's volunteer effort, Rehab Five, got a special salute from O'Connor, who appreciates his work in keeping firefighters hydrated as they work.
Copyright 2012 - The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.
