Fire destroys Hillsboro MB Church
Buildings are gone but the Spirit remains
Members of the congregation and Hillsboro residents have kept a vigil at the fire scene of Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church. Some come on their breaks and lunch hours, just to absorb the recent events.
Disbelief and shock have made way for parishioners to begin the task of sorting and sifting through the rubble.
On Monday and Tuesday, volunteers began sorting what was not completely destroyed by fire, smoke, or water.
With smoke billowing from the east end of the building, firefighters in full gear entered the west end of the former office building and brought boxes and items to the waiting arms of helpers.
Items were taken to the former Vogt's IGA building, across the street west of the fire scene.
At press time, the state fire marshal had not determined the cause of the multimillion dollar fire at the church, located at 104 S. Washington.
Bruce Porter, minister of the church, had left after the Sunday service for a retreat in California, said Rod Jost, youth minister.
Efforts had been made to contact the minister but were unsuccessful.
Jost said by 12:30 p.m. Sunday, everyone was believed to be out of the buildings.
The fire was reported at 3:49 p.m. Sunday by members of the Kansas Mennonite Men's Chorus.
The fire started near the church sanctuary and rapidly engulfed the entire church building.
By early Sunday evening, the fire had spread to the adjoining Sunday school educational wing, causing loud popping noises as windows exploded from the heat and flames.
By Monday morning, the church and the south section of the educational wing were a total loss, with flames shooting up through the burned roof of the third building, which housed the church offices, the chapel, and church hall.
In a Monday evening press conference, Garrett stated the "cause is undetermined at this time."
Garrett said the church's insurance company was still gathering information regarding the soundness of the structure.
The ATF, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms division of the federal government, was called to the scene.
"The present mandate is for the ATF to investigate all church fires," said Garrett.
Garrett thanked volunteers and agencies for their support.
Area fire departments were called and responded to the Sunday tragedy. Firefighters from Marion, Durham, Peabody, Goessel, county townships, Galva, Canton, McPherson, and Newton, and others arrived to battle the blaze.
Fire crews strung hoses, end to end, for several blocks to make a chain of water from numerous fire hydrants to the church.
Traffic was diverted in a two to three-block radius around the scene to avoid running over the string of hoses.
More than one million gallons of water were used Sunday. Garrett said there was never an issue of a water shortage.
Between 35 and 40 residents were displaced because of the fire, due to electrical service being disconnected to their homes.
"Electrical service was restored by Monday morning," said Garrett.
As of Tuesday, several residents with homes located east of the church campus were unable to return to their homes due to the instability of the walls of the charred structure.
In addition to the loss of the church, a home south of the church was severely damaged by fire.
The home belongs to Bev Harms. She said at this time she is not planning to rebuild.
Several other homes received smoke damage, including Chris Glanzer's home, south of Harms.
"Embers from the church damaged the roof," said Glanzer. He was waiting for information from his insurance company.
The original church building was constructed in 1910 and was located at the intersection of Grand and Washington streets.
This original building was remodeled in 1962 and became church offices. A chapel and church hall also were located in the original church.
With used lumber from the former military barracks in Salina, construction of the Sunday school educational wing, the middle section, was completed in 1949. It was connected to the church and Sunday school rooms.
A new church was built in 1958, south of the middle educational section and also was connected to that section.
In 1976, a new Reuters pipe organ was installed and dedicated. The impressive organ consisted of 19 ranks and 1,191 pipes.
Jost is thankful to the Hillsboro and surrounding communities for their support.
"We're getting prayers from people all over the country," said Jost. He is thankful no one was injured.
Jost also is grateful to USD 410 and Tabor College.
"I was able to meet with the youth from our church Monday at the high school," said Jost. "They (youth) are very optimistic."
Churches and business have offered space, added Jost. "Everyone has been so gracious."
Services are planned this week with long range plans on hold until Pastor Porter has a chance to return.
