By Lauri Lee
Northside News
The City of Madison Fire Department was dispatched to a fire call at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 126 N. Sherman Ave., Wednesday, Sept. 5, at 10:05 am. The fire was discovered soon after it started by those working in the office. Thanks to their quick action to call the fire department and evacuate the building, no one was injured. Fire crews responded within five minutes of getting the call and had the fire knocked down within 11 minutes of arrival.
The fire started in the florescent lighting unit in the upstairs main office copy room. A trustee had just removed the florescent light bulbs and went to buy new ones. When he returned a short time later, the smell of smoke was noticed and fire discovered in the lighting unit.
Responding fire crews confronted the fire in the rear office area. Smoke was coming from the outside eaves. Firefighters cut holes in the roof so smoke could escape the structure and sprayed water on the fire. Due to the fast response of those in the office and firefighters, the fire was contained primarily to the main office copy area with damage to another office and fireside room. The sanctuary and welcome area were not damaged. Damage is estimated at this time to be $75,000–$100,000.
Wednesday is pantry day at the Bread of Life Food Pantry, located in the church basement. “When the fire started, more than 100 people were visiting the pantry to receive food,” said Pastor Gerry Kuhnke. “The fresh meat was spoiled before anyone could safely return to the building.” Second Harvest issued the food pantry a credit for the meat. People were able to return another day to get their meat. The food pantry reopened just one week after the fire.
“We had items covered in plastic in the damaged fireside room for a Sept. 15‒16 estate sale,” said Pastor Kuhnke. “The blessing is that the sale got to go on because these items escaped smoke and water damage.” Just 24 hours before the fire, a funeral was held at the church. “The Celebration of Life would have been ruined for the family and friends had this happened one day sooner,” he said.
When the fire destroyed the main office area, it took out the church’s internet, phones, copy machine and paper supply. All of which are essential to preparing the Sunday bulletin for worshippers and materials for the ministries at the church. “I’m grateful to Margo Dixon at The UPS Store for immediately stepping in to help us print what we need until we are back up and running,” said Pastor Kuhnke. Worship services resumed at the church Sunday, four days following the fire. The Senior Connections and Vets Connect programs resumed meeting the following week.
“There were so many blessings in the midst of this,” said Pastor Kuhnke. “We’re grateful the fire was discovered before it spread to the rest of the building and that no one was hurt.”