By Howard Koplowitz and Christina Santucci
A fire that originated in a Richmond Hill home on 111th Street near Atlantic Avenue caused by a fallen tree branch last week spread across the road and damaged the Deeper Life Christian Fellowship church.
“First, the tree branch came down,” said 111th Street homeowner Joe Aslaender. “Then there was a live wire sputtering for a while. The wires were hitting each other.”
The Deeper Life Christian Fellowship on 111th Street has a congregation of about 500 members, according to City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley’s (D-Middle Village) office.
The Rev. Charles Sadaphal, Deeper Life’s pastor, could not be reached for comment.
“My deepest condolences go out to the Richmond Hill residents who lost their homes and the 500 congregants who lost their church last Thursday,” Crowley said in a statement. “While this is a difficult loss for our community, I am thankful to the 135 brave firefighters who are responsible for getting the fire under control and for making sure no one was seriously hurt. My office is available to help any constituents who are victims of last week’s fire however we can.”
The fallen branch caused power lines to go down, resulting in a fire in 111th Street resident Willie Rivera’s apartment. Rivera was not in the apartment when the blaze erupted at around 2:25 p.m. April 29.
“I went upstairs to my room where everything was thrown around,” he said. “Nothing was burned.”
Rivera was alerted to the fire by his brother-in-law, Rigoberto Melendez, who was in the apartment at the time of the blaze.
“I heard a really big bang,” Melendez said, noting he and Rivera’s wife were on their way out the door when the fire started.
“I saw the [downed] tree. I saw sparks coming from the house,” he said.
Melendez said he did not have the key to the basement, where the circuit breaker is located, so firefighters had to break down the door. They also had to pierce through the apartment’s skylight.
“The house was going to be in flames,” if they did not get into the basement, Melendez said. “A big wire fell from our side of the street. Then the church started smoking. Nobody was around. The house would have burnt, God forbid.”
The right portion of the roof to the Deeper Life Christian Fellowship on 111th Street was destroyed in the fire.
Aslaendar said the church is busy on some days and conducts an all-night service Fridays.
Con Edison workers were repairing the downed power lines Friday.
State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said his office was worried about the church’s status.
“Whenever any site is affected by a fire, we are concerned because there are fiscal situations and fiscal needs,” he said.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
