By Amaris Castillo
PELHAM — The sound of lightning striking the church steeple was so loud Friday, it set off the alarms of other buildings nearby. And so great was the explosion that it blew the white shingles off, some landing as far as across Main Street.
“I was thinking the worst, that the whole steeple would have fallen off,” said Ron Schneider late Saturday morning as he surveyed the damage to First Congregational Church at 3 Main St.
“I was afraid for the worst, he said. “Twenty-three years ago, on that very day, our ceiling fell in and destroyed the whole inside of the church, so we’re thinking ‘Oh God, not again.'”
At 4:32 p.m. Friday, Pelham firefighters responded to a one-alarm fire at the centuries-old church and found significant damage to its steeple with no visible smoke or fire, according to a release. A small fire was found burning between plywood sheathing. Officials said it appears that a lightning strike hit the steeple, causing it to “explode” while the electrical energy from the strike traveled through the Bell mechanism and caught the plywood on fire.
Firefighters extinguished the fire, according to the release. Salem and Windham fire departments assisted at the scene, and the Methuen Fire Department covered the fire station. Pelham fire officials requested an evaluation of the church steeple by the town’s building and electrical inspectors.
Schneider said no one was hurt during the lightning strike and that the inspectors cleared the building Friday.
On Saturday, a crew worked to patch up the right side of the steeple before the next rainstorm. Schneider, the church’s treasurer and a Tyngsboro resident, was among several men who stood and watched. He said a structural engineer will have to inspect the church next week.
“We’re lucky,” he said. “We can actually have service now tomorrow.”
Roland Hatz, a church trustee, peered up at the steeple against Saturday’s grey morning sky. He said he rushed here after his daughter found out about the incident on Twitter.
“I was just shocked that it happened,” he said.
Schneider pointed out that the church’s minister resigned just last week.
“So him leaving and this happening, it’s like, ‘When it rains, it pours,'” he said.
Does Schneider believe the lightning strike was a sign from above?
“No,” he said with a smile.
“It’s actually something for everybody to rally around. It’ll be a good thing… it’ll strengthen us more than weaken us.”
Follow Amaris Castillo @AmarisCastillo.
