[huud-l] Paint Creek Church fire 12-15-03

[Mary Andrus-Overley]

Please pass this sad news along to others in your congregation with an
invitation to help with financial contributions as they are able.
Thanks.
Mary Andrus-Overley

  _____  

For Immediate Release
Contact: Jaco B. ten Hove, co-minister (at above addresses)
 
Fire UPDATE - as of Saturday evening, Dec. 13
 
EVENT SUMMARY
Near dawn on Tuesday morning, Dec. 9, at Paint Branch Unitarian
Universalist Church, a fire broke out in the back end of the Religious
Education Building, apparently related to the furnace underneath a
classroom. The blaze was controlled relatively quickly, but not before
that room was gutted, floor through roof. The rooms on either side were
also destroyed, and all contents in the entire building were
contaminated by smoke, including the church offices.
 
Thankfully, no one was in the building at the time and there was no
damage to any other nearby structures, such as the Meeting House and the
deck that connects the two buildings. Around 75 firefighters, mostly
from local volunteer units, were very active in preventing any further
spread of the fire. Media crews were also quite attentive. Staff and
trustees from the church plus the owners of the Montessori School that
rents the building were on site very soon, anguished and concerned.
 
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS
An emergency response and restoration firm was immediately called in to
secure the suddenly unsafe and very sooty building, and various
investigators began inquiries. A church gathering was held that first
night in the Meeting House, attended by about 75 people, and the Board
of Trustees met in emergency session on Thursday evening. 
 
In the first days after the fire, many hands helped set up a new church
office in a storage area of the Meeting House. Trustees and staff also
met with the Church Mutual insurance adjuster and began to sort out
pathways and decisions ahead. Co-minister Jaco ten Hove functioned as
the most visible representative of the church, coordinating with
emergency personnel, adjuster, and church staff/volunteers.
 
NEXT STEPS
The burned and smoky building is now uninhabitable and off-limits to
everyone except workers. All its contents will have to be removed
(either discarded or professionally cleaned and stored) so the
stripped-down building-built in 1965-can be thoroughly decontaminated.
Preliminary indications are that general building insurance will
adequately cover the cleaning, renovation and refurbishing, but coverage
for rental income loss and upgrades to meet newer codes is limited.
Early estimates suggest that the building repair process could stretch
until summer. 
 
The church Religious Education program and other users of that building
will have to make serious adjustments, including the weekday Montessori
School renters. The co-ministers and RE director now have no office
space, and RE classes will begin again on Jan. 4 at an off-site location
still to be determined. All on-site meetings will have to share the
Meeting House, which is essentially one large room, surrounded by a
lobby, rest rooms corridor, kitchen and some storage areas. Montessori
classes are temporarily being held in there as well.
 
While the fire has been a hard blow to take, many expressions of support
from within and beyond the church have been inspiring. There is much
work ahead, but this setback also provides opportunities that can help
build an even stronger and more committed church community. 
 
By request of generous friends outside the church who want to help
financially, there is now a Paint Branch Fire Recovery Fund,
contributions to which can be sent to the church address: 3215 Powder
Mill Road, Adelphi, MD 20783. Further updates (and pictures) will be
available soon, if not already, on the church website: www.pbuuc.org.