Lightning Suspected in Fire That Caused
$1 Million Damage to Port Landmark

By BILL SCHANEN IV

© 2002 Ozaukee Press – Used by Permission

Much of Port Washington's historic Friedens Evangelical Church, founded by German immigrants who were among the city's first settlers, was gutted Monday night by a fire believed to have been started by lightning.

Authorities estimate the blaze, which was noticed at 11:13 p.m. after a number of powerful thunderstorms lit the city's sky with lightning, caused more than $1 million damage to the 113-year-old church at 454 N. Milwaukee St.

Although the brick structure of the church is intact, many valuable items, including at least six stained glass windows donated by members. of the congregation in 1914 were damaged or destroyed by the fire. The church's Schuelke organ, purchased in 1915, was also seriously damaged.

"The structure was saved, but the sanctuary seems to be a total loss" the Rev. Mark Voll, pastor of the church, said as he stood outside the soot-stained church with a group of congregation members Tuesday morning. "One of the saddest parts was the loss of' the precious stained glass windows."

"This is going to be hard to handle for a lot of people, especially the older members of our congregation who will be just shocked to see what the inside of the church looks like. These are the people who have sat in the same pews every Sunday for years and years."

An official cause of the fire is pending the findings of an investigator from the State Fire Marshal's office, although local authorities don't expect any surprises.

"We're leaning very strongly toward lightning being the cause at this point," Fire Chief Marc Eernisse said.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is also investigating the fire, Eernisse said.

"There's nothing at all suspicious here, but after a rash of church fires a couple years ago, the ATF's involvement is pretty routine," he said.

Authorities, however, are still working to determine what time the fire started. The 911 call made at l1:13 p.m. was not the first time that night authorities were called to the church.

At 8:17 p.m., the company that provides fire alarm service for Friedens reported a burglar alarm at the church. Police responded, inspected the outside of the building twice and found nothing out of the ordinary, Police Chief Ed Rudolph said.

Parish Council President Ray Schwinn was also notified and walked through the church.

"I keep beating myself over the head, but I walked through the church and there wasn't anything wrong," Schwinn said.

Eernisse said there is no indication the fire started then, although it probably smoldered for some time before it was noticed.

But authorities are not sure why a burglar alarm was reported or what effect it had on the fire alarm system.

The church, in fact, does not have a burglar alarm, only a fire alarm, Voll said.

"In a city like Port Washington, we never saw much need for a burglar alarm," he said.

Eernisse said alarm systems sometimes malfunction if hit with a surge of energy and send out false signals, which could have resulted in the burglar alarm reported at the church.

If police had received a fire alarm, fire fighters would have been called to inspect the church, Eernisse said.

Eernisse also said he was told that after the false burglar alarm was reported, the alarm company put the church's system in a "test mode" to avoid other false alarms. In that mode, the alarm system does not automatically alert authorities as it normally would, he said.

When asked if it is standard procedure to put alarm systems in test mode to avoid false alarms during storms, Eernisse said, "I would never do it."

"It's hard to know if the alarm system would have made any difference but I'd like to think it would," he said. "After all, that's what fire alarms are meant to do, to provide early detection of fires.

Fifty-five firefighters from Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Belgium and Fredonia responded to the blaze, which was burning out of control.

Searing heat inside the church, which melted some of the metal organ pipes, and high humidity outside was a concern for firefighters, but the blaze was brought under control in just 30 minutes, Eernisse said.

"It was just one of those efforts where everything clicked," he said.

No one was injured in the fire.

The fire apparently started in the northeast corner of the first floor.

Investigators are working with a weather service to determine how many lightning strikes there were in the area of the church Monday night and how close they came to the building.

Most of the damage is confined to the oldest part of the church. Soot-covered plaster from the ceiling is strewn on the floor. Pews, particularly in the back of the church, are charred and light fixtures look like melted taffy. Everywhere there is debris, including the stained glass shards from broken windows and partially burned prayer books.

"It looks bad inside. It looks real bad," said Schwinn, who was one of the first congregation members to see the damage.

The newer Memorial Hall, where several valuable church artifacts and documents are stored, is relatively undamaged, Voll said.

Eernisse said the fire did an estimated $600,000 worth of damage to the church structure, which includes items like the windows and organ, and $400,000 worth of damage to the contents.

"At this point, we think $1 million is a very realistic number," he said. "By the time you get done repairing a historical building like this one, it can be very expensive and time consuming. If they can get back in the church by Thanksgiving, they're doing good."

# # #