Fire damages St. Ann Church in Waynesburg
Services canceled after blaze started in children鈥檚 room in rear of building
Parishioners arrived at St. Ann Church in Waynesburg on Sunday morning expecting Mass, but were instead turned away by signs announcing all services and events were canceled after fire ripped through a children鈥檚 area and caused smoke damage elsewhere in the building.
Firefighters from several departments were called to the church at 232 E. High St. shortly before midnight Saturday and found the rear of the building ablaze, Waynesburg-Franklin fire Chief Jeff Marshall said.
The fire appeared to be contained to the children鈥檚 room at the rear of the building, although other parts of the building sustained smoke and heat damage, he said. It was unclear of the extent of the damage to the sanctuary, which appeared to have soot residue from smoke wafting through the rest of the building. Marshall said no one was injured in the blaze, which is under investigation by the state police fire marshal.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l have some substantial repairs and remodeling,鈥� Marshall said of the children鈥檚 play room.
The Rev. Tom Lewandowski, who is pastor of St. Matthias Parish that includes all of the Roman Catholic churches in Greene County, was milling about the property and inspecting the damage Sunday morning while waiting for a restoration crew to arrive to offer an estimate on the scope of the repairs.
鈥淭he church is intact, so that is good,鈥� he said.
Lewandowski lives in Carmichaels, so he was shocked when he received the phone call early Sunday morning that the church was on fire.
鈥淚t was unbelievable. It was devastating,鈥� Lewandowski said of the phone call. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e thankful there was no loss of life and no one was injured. Everything in that church that got damaged can be replaced. We鈥檝e very thankful for that.鈥�
While he was standing outside of the church, a woman who identified herself only as Jackie said she was devastated when she heard about the fire and stopped by to offer her thoughts to Lewandowski.
鈥淚鈥檓 so sorry Father Tom. Are you OK?鈥� said Jackie, who added that she鈥檚 been a parishioner at St. Ann for 55 years and had her children baptized there. 鈥淚t鈥檚 heartbreaking.鈥�
Lewandowski said the top area of the church where the sanctuary is was mostly spared besides some soot and smoke damage, but he did not know when they would be able to resume Mass there until the restoration company begins cleaning up on Tuesday. Until then, the suggested parishioners attend services at one of the other Roman Catholic churches in the parish.
鈥淧eople are coming by,鈥� Lewandowski said of the outreach from parishioners. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an important part of the community and the parish.鈥�
St. Ann was founded in 1839 and is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Greene County. The Diocese of Pittsburgh said in a statement that all services are canceled this week and the Jubilee Mass scheduled for Saturday will be postponed.
鈥淲e are grateful to God that no one was injured,鈥� the diocese said in its statement. 鈥淲hile the main body of the church appears to be intact, adjoining spaces have suffered extensive damage.鈥�
Marshall said crews from Waynesburgh-Franklin, Jefferson, Rices Landing and Carmichaels were on scene for about two hours battling the blaze.
Hours later, at about 6 a.m. Sunday, another fire was reported at Buddy鈥檚 motel in West Waynesburg, damaging three units in the complex, although no one was injured in that blaze either. Waynesburg-Franklin, Jefferson, Rices Landing and Carmichaels responded to that fire, along with Center Township. The state police fire marshal fire marshal is also investigating the cause of that blaze.
Information was not immediately released on the cause of either fire or whether they鈥檙e considered suspicious.