February 5, 2010
St. Joseph — Jan. 28 fire in Bramble church leaves soot, smoke damage
Firefighters assess the damage of a Jan. 28 fire at St. Joseph Church in Bramble. (Photo courtesy Jerry Huelsman) Click for a larger version.
By MARY ANN HUGHES (Message staff writer)
A Jan. 28 fire in the 150-year-old church at Bramble has left the faith community there with feelings of great blessings.
Betty Huelsman, parishioner at St. Joseph Church, said, “We are so very blessed that the fire was noticed when it was, no one was injured, and our little country church is still standing. Praise the Lord!!!!”
Father Joseph Erbacher is the pastor of the four parishes in Martin County. He said that “lucky for us” the parish resource manager Leo Padgett was doing work in the office at the time of the fire.
The parish CRE Kathy Wittmer was coming to the church with clean altar cloths when she saw the fire and ran into the parish office. She told Leo to call 9-11.
“They contained the fire with fire extinguishers,” Father Erbacher said, “before the fire trucks arrived. After the fire was contained, they took the Blessed Sacrament from the church.”
He said the fire occurred between 3:30 and 4 p.m. last Thursday. The state police notified him at his office at nearby St. John Church, Loogootee, and he immediately notified Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger.
When the pastor arrived in Bramble “word was out and gobs of parishioners and neighbors” had arrived to help. The neighbors included Amish and Mennonites who “all responded quickly.”
Betty noted that “all of the statues, stations of the cross, candle holders and tabernacle were removed from the church as soon as the fire was under control. Black soot from the smoke was everywhere!
“As usual, members of the church showed up and pitched in to help.”
The fire started in the southeast corner of the building, Father Erbacher said, and it has been classified as an electrical fire. So far, a cause has not been determined.
Plans are unfolding to have the statues and stations cleaned as well as the interior of the damaged church. The stained glass windows are original to the building. While none were broken, they were exposed to the heat and lead melted in one of them.
The fire “burned a hole in the wall,” Father Erbacher said, “and there is interior and exterior damage. There is smoke damage, and everything is covered with soot. It all has to be cleaned.”
He is unsure as to what damage has been done to the organ which is located in the choir loft.
Masses are now being celebrated in the basement of the rectory. It may take eight to 10 weeks before the parishioners can be back in their church. “That’s a rough estimate,” Father Erbacher said.
The parish in Bramble has 95 families. “A lot of them are Crane employees,” he said. “Their ties go generations back. They are very faith-filled. Their church and their Catholic faith come first.
“They are so dedicated to their church. They will endure any sacrifice because they are so glad their church did not burn to the ground.”