FDNY: 6 people injured in church fire during Easter service in East Williamsburg
Six people were injured during an Easter Sunday service at a church in East Williamsburg, officials say.
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Six people were injured during an Easter Sunday service at a church in East Williamsburg, officials say.
FDNY officials say there were about 150 people inside Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii Church when it caught flames. According to fire officials, the fire broke out at around 1:45 p.m. on the first floor and quickly spread to the second floor and roof.
Firefighters battled the flames for more than four hours. Five parishioners and one firefighter were injured due to the fire.
Community members are now coming together to clean the church after the rectory suffered damages. Thankfully, the worship space mostly remained untouched.
The Department of Buildings has placed a vacate order saying the roof has been completely destroyed. Workers in hazmat suits were spotted taking out parts of the carpet and other debris and pumping water out of the basement.
“They are going to close the church today, nobody’s going to be able to come inside," said father Romolu Marin, who says they may use the gym to continue services in the meantime. He added that there's no concrete table as to when the church will be back up and running.
The fire marshal is still working to figure out how the fire started. The Department of Buildings has ordered the building to sit vacant due to the extent of the damage to the roof.
