Easter Church Fire Doesn’t Dampen Holiday Spirit

Around twenty minutes into Easter Sunday Mass at St. Teresa’s Church in Woodside, a fire broke out forcing nearly 500 parishioners to evacuate.
But thanks to the quick-thinking help of an off-duty firefighter, his brother and a friend who were attending the mass, not one person sustained any major injuries.
Kenny O’Connor, 35, of Woodside, and a member of Engine Company 43 in the Bronx, ran to the sacristy of the church at the first sign of trouble, armed only with a fire extinguisher. He, his brother Chris and their friend, Anthony Ross, did what they could and then closed the door behind them to curtail the spread of fire.
More than 60 firefighters quickly arrived to put out the blaze. The fire was apparently sparked by a plate of smoldering incense that, according to firefighters, set ablaze a curtain in the sacristy.
Witnesses reported that a thick, black plume of smoke began billowing out of the sacristy behind the altar while Monsignor Denis Herron was giving the noon Mass sermon, causing worry amongst the congregants.
The church was extensively smoke-damaged while the two sacristy rooms were left severely scarred by the flames. The altar and first few rows were left water-logged. Books and confirmation gowns in the sacristy were also reportedly destroyed.
The 55-year-old church closed its doors for the rest of Easter Sunday but reopened the next day.
The fire took everybody by surprise, the priest and the parishioners that were present in the church, most of all because the day when it happened — Easter — and the symbolism of resurrection and rebirth that the day holds for Catholics.
elcorreo@queenscourier.com