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Pleasant Street Baptist Church

Here are some photos of the fire at the apartment building next door to Pleasant Street Baptist Church and the parsonage (our home) which began around 2pm Thursday, March 5, 2009.

The bell tower of the church also caught on fire and the church has sustained minimal damage (compared to what it could have been!!)

Eighty people in the apartment building have lost everything.

We are praising God that no one was killed!  A couple of firefighters where injured with second-degree burns because of the back draft in the empty elevator shaft, collapse of the roof, and caving-in of the wall.

Ten of our church members lived in the building and we had ministered to the many other residents through Lighthouse Mission, the food pantry, baby boutique and by being next-door neighbors.

We are in complete awe of how much God cares for us and all His creation.  In the last two days over 10 cats have been rescued from the building as well as 2 pet birds.  The firefighters have personally risked their lives to go into the smoldering building to retrieve cherished items.

One resident, Shirley, asked the firemen to find her Bible in her room.  They came out with a dripping wet Bible.  She quickly opened it and pulled out the only photo she has of her mother.

Dottie asked them if they could find her car keys which she had left on her dining room table.  The firemen came out with her keys and the photos of her kids which had hung on the walls.

From the start of the fire Rose had asked if they could find her fire safe.  We started praying that it would somehow be found even though there was nothing left of her 5th floor corner room except a small ledge of floor which hung to the bricks.  The Fire Chief said it was near impossible unless a certain demolition company was hired for the job - we kept praying - God is good!  That demolition company received the bid for the job and starting demolishing the building Saturday morning.  The crew chief, Nicky, said there would be a 10% chance of finding the box.  God could have used even smaller odds than that!  Nicky and his crew took their time and with skill and precision "swept" that small ledge with a huge bulldozer holding an extremely large telephone pole and found the small fire box safe!  We were beside ourselves praising God!

We could go on and on!  And we just might post again after the church service Sunday morning when we give people a chance to testify of God's goodness!

Thank you so much for praying for us during this tragic and scary event.  After we evacuated the parsonage I called everyone I have listed in my cell phone asking them to pray - God answered those prayers - thank you!

Here are a few news links with video footage:

http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/Crews_battle_fire_at_apartment_building_030509

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/18863445/detail.html

http://wbztv.com/local/worcester.apartment.fire.2.951420.html

We were thankful to finally be back in our home by 4:30 today, Saturday, March 7.  It will be great to sleep in our own bed.

Noel & Shelley Williamson
Dean, Renee, Ian & Zachariah

Pleasant Street Baptist Church, 6 Ashland St, Worcester, MA 01609
(508) 756-8754

Recent pictures

Fire!

Fire Behind Parsonage
Fire Behind Parsonage

Fire at 167 Pleasant Street
Fire at 167 Pleasant Street

Church Bell Tower on Fire
Church Bell Tower on Fire

Engulfed in Flames
Engulfed in Flames

Prior to Roof and Wall Collapse
Prior to Roof and Wall Collapse

Firefighters Working on Bell Tower
Firefighters Working on Bell Tower

God is More Powerful than the Flames!
God is More Powerful than the Flames!

Still Burning
Still Burning

Our Driveway full of Firefighters
Our Driveway full of Firefighters

4-Alarm Fire
4-Alarm Fire

Smoke and Ash Darken the Sky
Smoke and Ash Darken the Sky

The Bell Tower
The Bell Tower

After a Long Afternoon and Night - Still Smoldering
After a Long Afternoon and Night - Still Smoldering
We evacuated our house and stayed down the street at a church member's home for 2 nights.
The Weather Vain and Damaged Slate Roof
The Weather Vain and Damaged Slate Roof
I love the bird in the photo - the Holy Spirit
Tiles continue to fall making it not safe to worship in the church until the tower and electric grounding is fixed.
Backside of Apartment Building
Backside of Apartment Building
A new transformer and pole has been put in our parking lot.  We got electricity back by Friday afternoon!
Pulling out 1st Floor Apartment Antiques
Pulling out 1st Floor Apartment Antiques
The owner showed up early on Saturday to help 1st floor apartment renter pull out some of her antiques which were wet and sooty.  The demolition company said "time" and the crane got to work.
Finding Rose's Fire Safe on the 5th floor
Finding Rose's Fire Safe on the 5th floor
This giant machine is grasping a huge telephone pole and using it to delicately knock the bricks one way so it could then make the "shelf" of floor fall another way.  The fire safe was found!
Demolition of Apartment Building/Rooming House
Demolition of Apartment Building/Rooming House
taken from our back balcony
Demoing the Building
Demoing the Building
Half the building has been demolished today and they will start back to work on Sunday at 7am.  We will have church down the street and then walk up to the parking lot opposite to pray and praise the Lord!

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11/24/2009 6:39:06 AM