Fire damages St. Luke’s not arson

By Bruce Whetten
Douglas Dispatch
Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, November 21, 2012 11:01 AM MST


An early morning fire caused considerable damage to the St. Luke’s Catholic Church on 15th Street.


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The call came in shortly before 6 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14. When firefighters arrived on scene heavy smoke could be seen coming out of the roof towards the back of the church near Loretto Catholic School.

The DFD was able to use its newly purchased 100 foot aerial ladder fire truck for the first time to help combat the fire along with two other fire trucks.

Douglas’ Fire Chief Mario Novoa said the new ladder truck worked beautifully and helped them attack the blaze from a different angle helping save the church from further damage.

The pulpit area of the church was heavily damaged and there is smoke and water throughout the lobby and main chapel area but the building is repairable.

Several items at the alter area were saved and removed once the fire was extinguished.

The chief said the side chapel was also not damaged and candles that had been lit were still burning when he walked through the building once the fire was out.

One firefighter was injured in the fire and was taken to Southeast Arizona Medical Center for treatment.

The 7 a.m. mass that was normally held at St. Luke’s each morning was canceled.

Officials are saying the fire does not appear to be arson and the investigation is continuing.

Copyright © 2013 Douglas Dispatch

Comments

    Ramon wrote on Nov 29, 2012 4:48 PM:

    " They say the fire was not arson. I'm not so sure. 2 fires at churches are very suspicious. We need to know if there are peoples in Douglas who are committing hate crimes. Our churches need to be protected. If the police can't do it maybe we need to start citizen patrols to keep our town safe and report all suspicious activity to the police. "

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