Published in the October 22, 2019 edition.
WAKEFIELD — Tomorrow night marks the first anniversary of a devastating fire that destroyed the stately First Baptist Church at the corner of Lafayette and Common streets.
A service is planned at the site of the old — and future — church tomorrow beginning at 6:30 p.m. Organizers anticipate that it will last a half-hour. A candle lighting ceremony will be included.
The First Baptist Church will be opening a Kindness Rock Garden there too. According to a spokeswoman, “Feel free to take a rock with an inspirational message and also to bring one if you are so inclined. Instructions for decorating the rocks can be found online, simply writing a word in permanent marker is also appropriate. We encourage you to use non-toxic, eco-friendly paints and inks. Unpainted rocks which could be used are available on a foundation slab on the 8 Lafayette St property directly across from Town Hall.”
Parishoners will also be opening a Sylenda’s Swap Box for the exchange of books, and a station at which people will be able to leave prayer requests.
“We do hope that you will join us as we remember the past and look to what will be. Please bring a chair if you would like to sit. This is an opportunity for the community to come together as one and think of the future,” the spokeswoman said.
Parishioners recently voted to rebuild the First Baptist Church on the site of the fire. The entire process is estimated to take two or three years.
A house of worship for generations, home to a nursery school educating hundreds of children over the years and an important part of a classic New England downtown, the nearly 150-year-old First Baptist Church fell victim to lightning strikes.
Fire Chief Michael Sullivan said that a thunder storm came through town at about 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 23, 2018, and immediately on the heels of a couple of lightning strikes, the Fire Department started receiving calls reporting that the church had been hit. Shortly thereafter, the church’s fire alarm system went off and sent a signal to the fire station.
Sullivan said that that the first arriving Wakefield crew, led by Captain Paul Pronco, could see flames near the base of the steeple. They immediately started hitting that area with water and were preparing to bring a hose inside the church when the fire suddenly raced up the entire height of the 180-foot steeple. Captain Pronco quickly sounded a second alarm and then a third, in what ultimately became a 7-alarm fire.
Sullivan said that once a steeple is involved, it is very hard to control a church fire. Older churches such as the First Baptist Church tend to have multiple ceilings including decorative false ceilings with voids between the ceilings and the roof. Once the fire gets into that space, Sullivan said, a fire can easily gain a lot of headway before firefighters can even see it or get at it.
“There was just no stopping it once it got into that concealed ceiling space,” he said.
In short order, Sullivan noted, the entire roof of the church was on fire. He said that the dry wood of the nearly 150-year-old church burned ferociously, giving off a high level of radiant heat. He said that the Artichokes restaurant building next door to the church was “steaming” from the heat and windows on the side of that building facing the church cracked. The vinyl siding on an out-building on the church property melted from the heat.
Sullivan said that there were three or four hours of active burning before firefighters were able to get the fire under control, and they remained there all night and into this morning fighting hot spots.
Engines and ladder companies came from Reading, Stoneham, Melrose, Saugus, Woburn, Lynnfield, Malden, North Reading, Middleton, Burlington, Peabody, Winchester, Revere, Lynn, Danvers, Lexington and Salem. A total of 20 engines and seven ladder trucks were involved in fighting the fire. Wakefield Firefighter Daniel Paglia came in for high praise for the way he calmly orchestrated the movement of those companies.
Sullivan called the church “a total loss. I don’t see how any part of the church could be saved.” He estimated the damage at at least $1 million.
The church was not equipped with a sprinkler system, Sullivan said, noting that there had been no significant construction at the church in recent years that would have triggered the requirement to install sprinklers. Had there been sprinklers, Sullivan said, it might have slowed the flames somewhat but it still would have been a major fire due to the age of the church. Most churches in Wakefield do have sprinkler systems, he said.
Sullivan said that firefighters used over 15 hydrants in the downtown area, Yale Avenue, Church Street and North Avenue. The DPW boosted water pressure to the area to help get more water on the fire. More than 100 firefighters dumped several million gallons of water onto the fire.
The church was also home to the Tall Spire Nursery School, where hundreds of children began their education over the years.
