Congregants Heartbroken As Fire Devastates
Historic Maspeth United Methodist Church In Queens
NY Daily News 6/9/09
Nicastro for News
Firefighters battle the flames that engulfed the
century-old Maspeth United Methodist Church in Queens
early Tuesday morning.
The central stained-glass window
at the historic wood frame structure was destroyed, and the
sanctuary was gutted.
For generations, the white clapboard church was the center of a
Queens community, where the faithful married their sweethearts,
baptized children and said goodbye to loved ones.
Before dawn Tuesday, the 102-year-old Maspeth United Methodist
Church burned - and its parishioners' tears would not stop
flowing.
A raging fire engulfed much of the wooden structure and
destroyed its central stained glass window.
"It's breaking my heart," said Ruth Shklanko, 80, who wiped away
tears as she watched firefighters try to save the church that
she attended for 55 years.
The two-alarm blaze ignited at the 58th Ave. church just after
4:30 a.m. As the flames spread, parishioners braved a driving
thunderstorm to watch in horror.
 Nicastro for News The central stained-glass window at the historic wood frame structure was destroyed, and the sanctuary was gutted. |
"The fire was so intense you felt the heat across the street,"
said Ruth Shklanko's son, Stephen Shklanko. "You could see the
fire through the stained glass windows, and you knew that was it
for the church."
Stephen Shklanko, who celebrated his wedding and his sons'
baptisms in the church, said the smell of smoke was so intense
he initially thought his own home was on fire.
"This is a nightmare," said his wife, Victoria. "I actually feel
sick, like a part of you is gone."
Neighbors speculated that early-morning lightning strikes
sparked the inferno, but fire officials said the cause was still
under investigation.
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries while battling the
blaze, but no civilians were hurt.
The fire, which spewed thick, dark smoke that could be seen for
miles, was finally knocked down at 8:10 a.m., fire officials
said.
The heavily Catholic neighborhood celebrated the congregation's
150th anniversary in 2004, and the current church was dedicated
on Feb. 24, 1907.
"Everyone on the block is involved with the church," said Mike
Walter, 54, an accountant. "It has an open-door policy."
Its longtime pastor, whose residence across from the church was
spared, was not immediately sure where the parish's 100
congregants
would celebrate their next Mass.
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"I'm retiring at the end of the month," said Pastor Avelio de Leon, leader of the church for the last 14 years. "So it's a sad ending."
FDNY officials said the church's roof was badly weakened during
the blaze, so Buildings Department investigators
were called to the
scene to test the structure's integrity before parishioners were allowed to retrieve sacred items.
Slideshow: Fire Destroys Historic Queens Church WABC-TV 6/9/09
Fire Damages Historic Queens Church
NY1 News 6/9/09
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