Soup kitchen forced to close temporarily after fire at Wyandanch church
The fire started Sunday afternoon near an exterior door and spread through the church kitchen before reaching upstairs offices, according to church officials.
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A fire at Trinity Lutheran Church in Wyandanch has temporarily shut down a longtime soup kitchen that serves about 150 meals a day, church leaders said.
The fire started Sunday afternoon near an exterior door and spread through the church kitchen before reaching upstairs offices, according to church officials.
Photos provided by the church show damage inside the building, though much of it is not visible from the outside. The fire caused smoke and water damage and forced the closure of the Mercy Soup Kitchen, which operates inside the church.
Despite the damage, church leaders said most of the kitchen equipment and food supplies were spared.
Trinity Lutheran Church, located on South 20th Street, has been part of the Wyandanch community for 90 years. Its Mercy Soup Kitchen has provided meals to residents for about 45 years.
“The damage is minimal, but there’s smoke damage, there’s water damage, they had to rip out doors and windows,” said Vito Colletti, president of the Mercy Soup Kitchen. “So we got to get all that replaced.”
No injuries were reported.
Fire officials said the blaze appears to have been accidental.
Church leaders are working to clean up the damage and hope to reopen the soup kitchen later this week.
