Hours after tragic fire ripped through one of Southold’s oldest and most majestic churches, leaving only a pile of debris, firefighters described the battle to extinguish the blaze.
According to Southold Town Police, the First Universalist Church, located on the bend on Route 25 in Southold, was destroyed by a blaze that began at 11:28 p.m. Saturday night.
Southold Fire Chief Peggy Killian said the church was “fully involved” when firefighters arrived on the scene, with the building collapsing, leaving first responders unable to get inside and locate the source of the blaze. “It wouldn’t have changed the outcome,” she said. “There was not a lot we could do.”
Firefighters were back on the scene Sunday, helping to knock down part of the structure, which was on the verge of complete collapse, and to extinguish still-smoldering hot spots.
“It’s unsafe,” she said, adding that when oxygen hits a hot spot the blaze can erupt again. “We want to make sure no one gets hurt.” By evening, a fence was erected around the property to ensure no curious onlookers or kids tried to walk up to the charred remains of the structure.
Approximately 60 Southold firefighters battled the blaze, with a total of over 150 firefighters from neighboring departments on the scene, Killian said.
“Even Shelter Island called and asked if they could help,” Killian said, adding that it was all hands on deck as firefighters came together to help during the tragic fire.
Hearts were heavy for all on the scene; firefighters showed compassion, church congregants said, and were able to salvage a church bell and wooden sign with the name of the church from the rubble.
“This hurts more, because this was one of the first churches in Southold,” Killian said.
The fire follows a series of six blazes over the past weeks, Killian said.
Surveying the blackened debris, Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley said, “It’s a real shame. This church was a cornerstone, as you came around the turn here.”
While on patrol, Southold Town Police Officer Robert Haas discovered a fire at the First Universalist Church in Southold, police said.
The building was unoccupied at the time of the fire. The Suffolk County Police Arson Squad was requested, responded and assisted in the investigation.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but is not believed to be suspicious, police said. A congregant said that firefighters said the cause could have been electrical, but that has not been confirmed.
In a sad twist, Peggy Richards and Ken MacAlpin, displaced after a fire left their Greenport home in ruins, have been living in the parsonage of the church. They were unharmed in the fire.
The church was founded in Southold in 1835; the building itself has stood since 1860.
Parishioners gathered yesterday at the Custer Observatory to open their hearts and mourn, describing what the First Universalist Church of Southold has meant to them over decades.
