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Fire Destroys Selah (WA) Church Annex Building
SELAH, WA (August 30, 2001) - Fire extensively damaged the annex building of Selah Covenant Church Wednesday morning, according to church staff.
The annex, built in 1910 and at one time home to the local United Methodist church, was purchased by Selah Covenant a decade ago. It was used for Sunday school classes, youth activities and a Friday night coffeehouse events, among other things.
Renovations were under way to turn the upstairs of the building into an auditorium and multipurpose room that could be divided for Sunday school rooms. Church members had been working on renovations all summer. The origin of the fire remains under investigation, according to associate pastor Marc Strobel.
"The building most likely will be taken down - it was totally destroyed," Strobel said after talking with investigators. "They think they know where the fire started, but they're not saying yet."
Firefighters arrived at 3:31 a.m. to find the building engulfed in flames. The church is located in the center of town and the fire attracted considerable attention. The blaze took some 50 firefighters two hours to extinguish, according to a Yakima Herald-Republic report. Crews from Selah, Union Gap, Gleed, Naches, East Valley, Yakima and the U.S. Army's Yakima
Training Center responded.
Church volunteer and congregation member Vern Barnes watched the blaze around 4 a.m. It was upsetting for him and his wife, Phyllis, he said. "There were huge flames coming out of the roof. I've never seen so much smoke," he told the newspaper reporter.
Selah Covenant Church, founded in 1908, averages 300 in attendance. The community has a population of 6,000 and is located five miles north of Yakima in central Washington. Local churches have already come to the aid of the Selah church. A community prayer and remembrance meeting will be conducted by Selah Covenant Saturday. A church council meeting is set for September 6 to begin the decision-making process and to pray for the church.
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