Services go on at North Valley Stream church

As flames shot from the roof of New Hope Lutheran Church in North Valley Stream last week, there was only one thing the Rev. Perucy Butiku could do as she watched. “I was praying,” she said. “I stood out here and prayed. I said, ‘God, please save this church.’”

Her prayers were answered. Firefighters confined the blaze to a small section of roof, at its peak in the front of the building. A church staff member, arriving about 8:20 p.m. on Feb. 8 to do some cleaning, was met with smoke when he opened the doors. By that time, automatic alarms in the building had already alerted the Fire Department.

The following morning, shingles and burned pieces of wood littered the grounds of the church, at 60 Oliver Ave., and scorch marks were visible on the bricks at the tip of the building. A brown tarp covered a hole that had been created by flames and firefighters the night before. A restoration crew was already on the scene.

Beneath the burned area is the church’s balcony, which houses its now waterlogged organ. Below that is the lobby, or narthex. The floor there, just beyond the main entrance, was covered by pieces of wet sheetrock, while electrical fixtures hung from what was left of the ceiling. The stench of smoke still hung in the air.

“We were lucky,” said Butiku, the church’s pastor. “I feel blessed. It could have been worse.”

The Elmont Fire Department responded, with assistance from Valley Stream, Franklin Square, Floral Park, Malverne and Stewart Manor. About 100 firefighters came to the scene, and sprayed water on the flames from above and below.

Elmont Fire Chief Michael Capoziello said that when firefighters first arrived, they had a hard time locating the flames. “The visibility was pretty bad,” he said. “We didn’t know where fire was at first. The whole building was filled with smoke.”

Eventually, firefighters found the blaze up in the roof. There was no access to the balcony except by way of a single ladder, Capoziello said, so firefighters brought in their own ladders to get up there.

From the outside, a ladder truck reached the top of the building. Firefighters cut a hole in the roof to create a break that would stop the flames from spreading. Capoziello explained that the roof always poses a problem in a church fire. Typically it is made of exposed wood that is treated with flammable chemicals, and contains no fire breaks. That was the case at New Hope.

Although the fire was small, it went to two alarms to bring in additional manpower in case the flames spread quickly. “It’s better to call more units than you need,” Capoziello said, “than to be calling them when the fire is out of control.”

He said that a quick response helped save the building, noting that the first truck was on the scene within four minutes of the initial alarm.

Butiku praised the efforts of the firefighters. She said that they gathered and removed important religious items, including books, from the altar. Although the fire was on the other side of the church, Butiku said she appreciated the extra care.

The church has insurance, and repairs to the building will take some time, Butiku said, but services will go on. The sanctuary was saved — it is dirty but intact — and with three full days for cleaning, Sunday Mass went on as scheduled. Parishioners had to use a side door because of the damage to the lobby.

The nursery school, housed in another part of the building, remained closed through Tuesday. Although that area was not damaged, Butiku said she didn’t want to bring children in because of the smoke smell.

Edward Holst, the congregation’s president, got a call from the pastor about the fire and immediately went to the church. Though he lives just five minutes away, he said the fire was mostly out by the time he got there.

“We were fortunate,” Holst said. “There was minimal damage …”

Butiku, Holst and other members of the church’s council met the following morning to discuss their options. They hired a restoration company, then started making plans to prepare the church for Sunday Mass.

The cause of the fire was electrical, likely a short-circuit in the wires leading to the cross atop the church. The plastic cross is supposed to light up, but hasn’t worked in several months. Butiku said that some of the wires were exposed, and in hindsight, fixing the cross was an item that shouldn’t have been neglected. It fell to the ground during the fire.

Holts put the ordeal into perspective. “Nobody was hurt,” he said. “That’s what counts.”