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Fire breaks out and engulfs Mormon church in Cambridge during morning meeting

E-mail|Link|Comments () May 17, 2009 12:04 PM

By Daniel M. Peleschuk and Emma Rose Johnson, Globe Correspondents

CAMBRIDGE -- A fire broke out this morning during a meeting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints outside Harvard Square in Cambridge, sending members spilling out onto the street.

The blaze, which hit three alarms, began at 10:37 a.m. in the church at at 4 Longfellow Park, off Brattle Street, according to Cambridge Fire Department Supervisor Kirk Warner. No injuries have been reported. Fire departments from the surrounding communities of Belmont, Somerville, Waltham, and Watertown provided assistance.

According to Cambridge Fire Chief Gerald Reardon, the fire, which was fought with 22 engines, seven ladder companies, and about 80 firefighters, was brought under control sometime after noon. Reardon said the fire started in the attic, but he did not know the cause.

The building was gutted and smoke continued billowing from the charrred remains. The roof collapsed but the steeple remained standing. Onlookers stood watching firefighters work and taking photographs.

Bishop Paul Dredge, said by phone from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Belmont, that the loss of the church would be hard for the members.

"This is very sad for people who have a history with this building," he said.

The meeting this morning was an unusual event, said Dredge, who is leader of the Arlington-based Ward (the Mormon term for congregation) in Belmont. The members were attending a conference during which leadership from Salt Lake City was broadcasting to churches all over the country. The meeting started a half-hour before the fire broke out.

Smoke was drifting over the Harvard Square area, its odor saturating the air, as members stood in Longfellow Park watching in front of their church, watching itburn.

Micaiah Masterson, 30, a church member from Somerville, said those in the church didn't smell smoke, but were alerted to the blaze by an alarm.

"We thought it was just a drill, so everyone sort of made their way calmly," she said. "Then we saw fire, and it just didn't stop from there. Smoke was coming out from every vent.

"There's a lot of history here. A lot of our leaders came from this church," she said. "I'm kind of in shock."

Rebecca Sansom, 29, of Cambridge, is director of the Family History Center at the church, which she said is a geneological research center not just for the church but for the general public. It is a satellite to the main research center in Salt Lake City, which keeps backups for the information, she said.

"It's terrible, sad, horrible to watch it burn down like this," said Sansom. "This has been a centerpiece of LDS in New England for a very long time. It's been a center of activity for years and years.

"But we'll rebuild it, and it'll be OK," she said. "It won't be the same, but it'll be OK."

One of the church leaders, Mark Johnson, 35, of Belmont, who is a Second Counselor of the Bishopric, said members were grateful no one was injured and that their faith would get them through the tragedy.

"We're all strong in faith," he said. "First and foremost, we're glad that everyone got out safe."
But he said, "There are some real emotions coming through. It's a historic place for us."

The building was dedicated in the early 1950s, according to Dredge, and it currently houses three wards. The first ward consists of single undergraduates from area colleges, and the other two wards are made up of young adult singles, ages 25 to 30.

"We are anxious for young people in our church to find each other, and make marriages," said Dredge.