In a message from St. Philip and St. Clare’s parish priest himself, Fr. Bob Poole addresses the severity of the fire that their church suffered.
Fr. Bob Poole states that only just a few hours before on Ash Wednesday, congregants had been receiving their ashes, little did they know that with time their church would be damaged by fire.
The swiftness of the fire being reported meant that the damage was contained to only the bell tower. The neon cross located at the top of the tower had fallen down completely and entrance from inside the church to the tower had to be blocked off.
Fr. Poole expresses his thanks to the Knights of Columbus who were able to help clean the debris left from the fire. Due to the smoke and moisture of the fire their services were moved to the hall of the church, with hopes of returning quickly back into the church for the remainder of the Lenten season.
Although the official cause of the fire is under investigation, the church officials think that it could have been faulty wiring. No one was in the church at the time of the fire and there were no reported injuries.