Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 3, 1990 TAG: 9004030176
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The people packing the Botetourt County church clapped their hands and said "Amen." There was a sense of victory.
The pastor was visiting church members in the hospital Monday afternoon when he checked in with the office. A member who answered the phone said the church was on fire.
After he pulled his pickup truck into the parking lot, Via learned firefighters had been able to knock down the blaze before it did serious structural harm.
There was some fire damage on the second and third floors and smoke and water damage in other parts of the building. Roanoke County Fire Marshal Ken Sharp, who investigated the blaze, estimated damage at about $200,000.
The fire, though not as bad as it could have been, was enough to put tears in the eyes of some church members and spark hugs and prayers among those who clustered outside.
"This church is going to march forward for Jesus," Via said a few minutes after emerging from inside. "The devil is not going to stop this church. Put that down in bold letters."
Sharp said the fire apparently was caused by an overheated light fixture in a restroom in one of the building's lower floors. From there, the blaze moved upward, causing serious smoke damage to the sanctuary, Sharp said.
Via said the church's insurance man was at the scene Monday afternoon.
Church leaders were trying to decide Monday night whether they could hold services there Sunday or whether to look for someplace else.
The church, at Rainbow Forest Drive and Laymantown Road, has 1,200 to 1,400 members, Via said.
The octagonal building completed 3 1/2 years ago is attached to the old rectangular building that is now used for offices and classes.
Peggy Stewart, the church secretary, said she was working in the office wing when she discovered the fire about 1 p.m. She heard a noise in the hallway and opened the door and she saw black smoke pouring down the hallway.
She called to report the fire and then got out.
Lt. Gary Franklin and David Cornett of the Blue Ridge Volunteer Fire Department were the first firefighters inside.
Cornett said they went up to the second floor, crawled into the smoke and saw flames in the ceiling. They knocked those flames out with a hose.
The fire continued to smolder and firefighters fought flare-ups and poured water into the building off and on for about two hours.
Later, after Via arrived and peeked into the smoky-smelling church, the pastor gathered his assistants and deacons around him in a tight circle and prayed.
A church is not bricks and mortar, he said. It's people.
A few minutes later, a woman yelled across the gravel lot to Via, "Rick, we're gonna build it better than before."
Before he had left for the hospital Monday morning, Via had learned that another $8,000 had come in for the building, shrinking the debt total he had announced Sunday down to about $31,000.
"The church is just growing so fast," said Stewart, the secretary. "We need more space. We were anxious to get it paid off so we could do something else."
by CNB