April 03--A midday fire Tuesday ravaged the interior of a 127-year-old building that was once home of St. John Nepomucene Roman Catholic Church in Bohemia, officials said.
"It's heartbreaking. That was the first feeling I had when I came out and saw the flames," the pastor, the Rev. Joseph Schlafer, said later as he stood in the parking lot between the scarred building and the church cemetery.
"You know this building is loved by a lot of generations of people," the pastor said. "There was a burial here in the cemetery a few weeks ago and the man who had died was married here 70 years ago."
Fire broke out at the youth center at St. John Nepomucene Roman Catholic Church, at 1140 Locust Ave., at about 12:20 p.m., said Mike Stankunis, an assistant chief with the Bohemia Fire Department.
The fire badly burned the interior of the building, which was erected in 1885 and had served as the main church building until 1981, the pastor said. He said the main church and other building in the church complex were not damaged.
"It's a historic structure," Stankunis said. "People bring their children here to take photographs at baptisms and confirmations."
There were no injuries, Stankunis said.
Neither was there damage to the main church building, the convent nor the priests' residence, he said.
An off-duty volunteer firefighter driving by the church complex, at the corner of Locust Avenue and Church Street, noticed smoke coming from the building, which was being used as a youth center, Stankunis said.
Firefighters and Stankunis arrived at the scene about five or six minutes later, he said.
Smoke was still coming from the interior of the building shortly before 2:30 p.m., as fire officials and police began to leave the scene.
Although the interior was badly damaged, Stankunis said, the exterior of the structure appeared to be intact. The most visible exterior damage were smashed windows and a large hole in the roof that firefighters created to provide ventilation as they fought the fire.
Firefighters needed about an hour to get the blaze under control, he said.
The cause of the fire had yet to be determined.
With Gary Dymski
Copyright 2012 - Newsday, Melville, N.Y.
