Mount Zion Destroyed
Prayers and thoughts go to the guys at Mount Zion Family whose church has been completley ravaged by fire tonight, article below taken from the EDP website................
Ninety firefighters from across Norfolk battled in vain last night as one of Norwich's best know churches was destroyed in a massive blaze.
Flames were reported coming from the Heartsease Mount Zion Family Life Centre at about 10pm, and by midnight the building was totally wrecked.
At the height of the blaze 15 fire engines and a number of support units were deployed at the scene on Norwich's ring road, which police closed to traffic.
"We have no indication at this stage what might have caused the fire, but we do know that the building had been in use earlier in the evening. One of the problems has been that the building, we believe, was largely a timber structure, and as a result the fire spread quickly and with great intensity. I would say that the temperatures within the family centre were in the region of 1500C at the height of the fire."
Indications last night were that nobody had been injured in the fire.
At about 12.30am an outer part of the building collapsed and fire crews were forced to retreat quickly to avoid falling masonry.
One of the pastors of the church, Steve Mawston, speaking at the scene just before 1am, said: "I got a call to come to the church at around 10pm and when I got here I was just shocked.
"It felt so surreal seeing the church going up in flames in this way.
He said: "It is a great tragedy what has happened here tonight but my feeling is that this will bring our church closer together and it will make us stronger.
"We believe we still have a great future. Our church is not a building - it is about people."
Ninety firefighters from across Norfolk battled in vain last night as one of Norwich's best know churches was destroyed in a massive blaze.
Flames were reported coming from the Heartsease Mount Zion Family Life Centre at about 10pm, and by midnight the building was totally wrecked.
At the height of the blaze 15 fire engines and a number of support units were deployed at the scene on Norwich's ring road, which police closed to traffic.
"We have no indication at this stage what might have caused the fire, but we do know that the building had been in use earlier in the evening. One of the problems has been that the building, we believe, was largely a timber structure, and as a result the fire spread quickly and with great intensity. I would say that the temperatures within the family centre were in the region of 1500C at the height of the fire."
Indications last night were that nobody had been injured in the fire.
At about 12.30am an outer part of the building collapsed and fire crews were forced to retreat quickly to avoid falling masonry.
One of the pastors of the church, Steve Mawston, speaking at the scene just before 1am, said: "I got a call to come to the church at around 10pm and when I got here I was just shocked.
"It felt so surreal seeing the church going up in flames in this way.
He said: "It is a great tragedy what has happened here tonight but my feeling is that this will bring our church closer together and it will make us stronger.
"We believe we still have a great future. Our church is not a building - it is about people."
posted by monty at
3:16 AM
1 Comments:
It’s totally amazing when you see the place, I've been talking to a few of the leaders today and they generally seem quite positive although I'm sure very sad to.
I heard Trevor (the pastor) on the radio tonight and they've made plans to use Drayton hall and will bus people from FLC on Sunday and they are busy making new plans for a new building etc.
What I have heard from the fire chief on the news and those that stood watching it, they we're totally amazed that a building which was mostly made from fire resistant materials burnt so quickly, the fire chief said we should have been able to contain it but couldn't and didnt understand why.
Either way it’s a real bummer and quite sad so I pray that they can re build in whatever way they se fit as soon as possible. Also thankful that no one was hurt!
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