CLAREMORE - The Bible's cover was missing and the pages soaked. But at least something could be taken from the charred mess.
"This doesn't belong on the ground," Claremore fire official Marty Osborne said as he handed the water-logged book to Christ Presbyterian Church pastor Dave Schwenk.
The church was destroyed late Saturday night in a raging blaze that required assistance from fire departments from across Rogers County. The cause is still being investigated, and one injury was reported, a firefighter treated for heat exhaustion.
As Schwenk looked at the century-old structure on a rainy Sunday afternoon, only rubble remained - piles of 100-year-old stones, charred wood and warped metal burned black from the intense heat. What could be salvaged?
"Nothing," Schwenk said. "It won't be worth going through."
The first emergency call reached the Claremore Fire Department at 9:58 p.m., said Osborne, the department's battalion chief. Firefighters arrived two minutes later, but smoke already was pouring from the metal roof.
Entering the building wasn't safe, Osborne said. The possibility of a roof collapse or a flashover - when air turns to fire - left firefighters taking a defensive approach. Their goal: Protect buildings around the church in the Claremore area known as Old Town.
"The best thing we did here was keep it from burning down anything else," Osborne said.
Grateful neighbors agreed.
"I never really had any problems," said Jim Smith, whose funeral home is right next door to the church. "Every fire station in Rogers County was here."
Firefighters from eight area departments - Pryor, Verdigris and Catoosa among them - fought the blaze. Emergency responders came from about a dozen agencies, including police for crowd control. The blaze cast a glow for miles and drew onlookers from the neighborhood and beyond.
Some included parishioners, who watched from half a block away on the sidewalk as the church they attended burned through the night.
On Sunday morning, more returned and stood in a steady rain as a giant excavator with a claw-like arm tore through the pile, exposing flaming hot spots that firefighters sprayed with a jet of water from an elevated platform.
"We're all kind of numb," said church elder Neil Thielen. "It's just starting to sink in ... horrible."
Thielen, 61, said he's attended the church for more than 20 years. He's watched as the small congregation - about 35 to 40 on most Sundays - tried to renovate the old building they initially rented from the Methodist Church and then purchased about five years ago.
"We're pretty poor, so we take it a little bit at a time," Thielen said. "The first thing you think of is this guy was married here, this guy was baptized here ... ."
When Thielen's son died, the services were there.
"It's tough," he said.
Although county records weren't immediately available, most longtime observers agreed that the church was built between 1900 and 1910. Schwenk said a major addition was built in the 1920s and now was about 11,000 square feet. The church originally was a wood structure and the stone facade was added later.
"It was pretty," said Melody Herrmann, who lives about a block away and watched as the windows blew out. "I loved the windows."
The fire raced through the inside of the building but left the stone towers - about three stories tall - standing, said Claremore Fire Chief Sean Douglas. A crew pushed down what was left of the towers Sunday to avoid a collapse into the street.
Investigators continued to try to pinpoint the cause. Several possibilities existed, Claremore Fire Marshal Jason Crandall said. He said he wasn't sure when the investigation would be complete.
The congregation didn't meet Sunday, and it's unclear where they'll meet next week, Schwenk said.
About a month ago, a family in the church lost their home to fire. The same shock has returned.
The church has insurance, and leadership will figure out what's next, Schwenk said. Already, churches in the community have begun offering assistance.
This isn't the path Schwenk would have chosen for his church, he said, but he believes in God's sovereignty. The building may be gone, but the church's strength remains.
"I think I have it properly put into context, what matters the most," he said. "It's the people. That's what matters."
Mike Strain 918-581-8356
mike.strain@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Landmark burns
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