Sicilian Culture: News: Fire of St. John of the Devine Cathedral in NYC

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Church Fire Brought Under Control
By Amanda Barrett, Vera Haller & Reggie Thomas, Newsday

December 18, 2001 - - Hundreds of firefighters brought a five-alarm blaze under control at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine this morning, preventing the fire from harming the main part of the landmark church.
Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen said the firefighters took control of the blaze about 9:30 a.m., nearly three hours after it was first reported.
The cathedral, located at 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhood, is the mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of New York and the seat of its Bishop. It is also said to be the largest cathedral in the world.
Dozens of fire trucks were called to the scene this morning as heavy black smoke billowed from gift shop in the cathedral, located in a north wing off the main sanctuary.
Witnesses said the fire started at around 6:30 a.m., but Von Essen suggested that the blaze could have been smouldering all night.
The commissioner said when firefighters first got to the scene, the area was so filled with smoke that they couldn’t see where they were going. They were forced to use a thermal energy camera to get closer to the source of the fire.
Von Essen praised the first units that reported to the fire. “The original units here did an outstanding job using a ladder pipe, knocking down the fire. It had already gotten into areas where they could see it visibly.They knocked down as much as they could and they started getting lines inside,” he said.
The Rev. E. Don Taylor, vicar bishop for New York City, said the gift shop on the rear north side of the church appears to have been destroyed.
“It’s just painful to see this church engulfed in smoke,” said Taylor.
The gift shop, which sold ornaments, Christmas cards, Nativity scenes and more, was a big source of income for the cathedral, making about $1.5 million annually. About 500,000 people visit the church each year.
Peter Gudaitis, associate director of episcopal charities, said church officials are also concerned about a priceless series of tapestries designed by Barberini and manufactured by Italian tapestry makers in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The tapestries, woven on the pope’s official looms, depict the life of Christ. Six of the tapestries were on display in the church.
Two had been hanging on wall on the nave on other side of gift shop.
Gudaitis said Von Essen told him the two tapestries had been taken down by firefighters but the extent of damage to the art is unknown.
The cathedral has suffered numerous construction problems since the cornerstone was laid in December 1892.

Firefighters Contain Blaze At Cathedral of St. John of The Devine
By Daniel J. Wakin
December 18, 2001 - - A five-alarm fire broke out today in the north transept of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, apparently starting in the cathedral's gift shop, fire officials said. There were no reported injuries.
It took nearly 200 firefighters more than two hours to contain the blaze. The fire was brought under control at 9:25 a.m., Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen said.
"We're pretty confident it started in the gift shop," Mr. Von Essen said. He said the fire was reported about 6:30 this morning by a cleaning person. The gift shop was closed at that hour.
Cathedral officials said it was unclear how much of the interior was damaged because thick black smoke had filled the inside. But the fire commissioner said there was widespread smoke and water damage and police and fire officials at the scene said that part of the roof of the transept had caved in.
St. John the Divine is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world.
Concerns centered around 17th-century tapestries depicting the life of Christ, several of which hung on the north wall, said Jere Farrah, the cathedral's executive vice president for development.
The transept of the cathedral was incomplete, more than a century after work on the cathedral began. Work on the north transept was halted a week after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and exposed steel beams still sit high above the wing.
Mr. Farrah expressed optimism that there would be no major structural damage beyond the transept but said fire and water damage could cause harm to the cathedral's artistic riches.
Struggling to avoid breaking the stained glass windows, firefighters opened the doors and brought in fans to help clear the smoke.
The cathedral is between leaders. A new dean, the Rev. James A. Kowalski, was recently appointed and is to be installed in March following the retirement of the previous dean, the Rev. Harry H. Pritchett Jr.
The fire is a deep wound not just for the Episcopal church but for the neighborhood, whose residents used the playgrounds on the church grounds and come out for events like the blessing of the animals on the feast of St. Francis in October.
The cathdral grounds also house a school and a summer camp, as well as two peacocks that wander the greens.
Residents of the neighborhood, at 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, in the Morningside Heights of Manhattan, crowded the sidewalks of Amsterdam Avenue opposite the cathedral to watch the firefighters at work.
Four blocks of the avenue were closed off.

Firece Fire in Landmark of New York Cathedral
By Daniel Bases
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A fierce fire broke out in New York's landmark St. John the Divine Cathedral, one of the world's largest, early on Tuesday, but firefighters managed to keep the blaze from damaging its massive sanctuary.
Officials said there were no report of casualties. The cause was not immediately known and was under investigation.
The blaze, occurring as the cathedral was being prepared for Christmas celebrations, destroyed the north transcept that housed the gift shop in the huge, cross-shaped building.The main sanctuary suffered smoke and water damage.
The fire burned about four hours before it was declared under control at about 10:34 a.m., according to officials.
``It broke out in the gift shop,'' said New York Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen. ``It was a tremendous fire in the beginning. But it was held back from the inside of the church.''
About 200 firefighters and 48 units fought the five-alarm blaze, the most serious category of fire. Flames shot up several stories, while smoke filled the church and billowed out its massive front doors.
The Episcopal cathedral, still under construction and about two-thirds finished, would be the world's largest when completed.
The fire was discovered by a maintenance worker, who arrived at work early. The first alarm came in at 6:42 a.m., fire officials said.
HOLIDAY SERVICES LIKELY TO GO AHEAD
Church officials said they were optimistic that holiday services would be held next week. ``Thus far, we are confident of what we have been told -- we'll be able to continue services in a few days,'' said Henry King, president of the board of trustees of the cathedral.
Fire officials said there was expected to be minimal fire damage,although the church suffered water and smoke damage, especially in the basement.
Construction of the cathedral, located in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan near Columbia University, began in 1892.
King said the gift shop does about $1.5 million in business each year, with about 500,000 tourists visiting annually.
Nicholas Hurwitz, 12, a student at the Cathedral School next door to the church, said, ``This place is so meaningful to me. I've been running around here and growing up here since I was born. I was baptized here.''
The original design called for the church to be 525 feet in length, emphasizing features of both Romanesque and Byzantine architecture.
The cathedral has suffered numerous construction problems since the cornerstone was laid in December 1892.
Originally, builders had trouble laying the foundation when, after two years of digging, they failed to reach bedrock. With the help of a donation from financier J.P Morgan, they eventually hit bedrock 72 feet below ground.
The cathedral's nave with its interior arches is 124 feet high. Its bronze doors were cast by Ferdinand Barbedienne, who also cast the Statue of Liberty.
Its Great Rose Window is 40 feet in diameter and is composed of more than 10,000 pieces of glass.

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