Md. Firefighters Find Challenges at Chapel Fire

July 21--The Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at Mount St. Mary's University is closed indefinitely after a fire in the bell tower caused more than $600,000 in damage.

School and fire officials suspect a lightning strike caused Friday night's blaze, which drew 75 firefighters from Frederick and nearby counties. The crews got the fire under control after about 1.5 hours, said Tim Clarke, president of the Vigilant Hose Fire Company in Emmitsburg.

"All the fire was along the roof line," Clarke said. "It was very difficult to fight."

The building is the main chapel and the bell tower is one of the tallest structures on the 205-year-old campus.

"It's a very sobering sight," Barry Titler, the university's director of public safety, said Saturday of the damage to the bell tower. Slate roof tiles that fell during the fire remained embedded in the ground below, and significant portions of the tower's roof were burned through.

Even so, Titler said the school is fortunate.

"We probably could have lost the entire chapel," he said.

The area of the bell tower that caught fire is connected to the main chapel by a series of catwalks, Titler said.

"This is where we were very fortunate. It would have been very possible for the fire to get into that chapel catwalk system," he said.

Titler credited quick reports from witnesses and the strong response from fire companies for saving the building from more serious damage.

Topher Darragh, a graduating senior who lives on campus, was driving home from dinner in Frederick when a friend called him to report that he'd heard a loud noise followed by sparks outside his window.

Darragh, who works for the university's public safety department as a dispatcher, called into the office just as he was arriving back home to DuBois Hall, which is next to the chapel.

"There was a little smoke," he said. "I didn't think it was on fire, but I thought it could be dangerous."

Shortly thereafter, the fire escalated to a two-alarm blaze.

"It's a pretty important building on campus, it's a symbol of our Catholic identity," he said. "I'm 100 percent sure that I will come back to visit once it is rebuilt."

Titler said it will take a couple of weeks to receive the full fire report, but campus officials have already begun to talk about rebuilding.

Spokesman Christian Kendzierski said the site is a popular destination for alumni to get married. He and others worked with an alumnus who was getting married in the chapel Saturday to move the ceremony. The couple and their wedding party left the chapel Friday night just before the storm, he said.

Masses will be moved to other chapels on campus until the building is repaired, Titler said.

"We are a strongly Catholic university," he said. "There's no shortage of space for worship."

Follow Danielle E. Gaines on Twitter: @danielleegaines.

Copyright 2013 - The Frederick News-Post, Md.