Warwick church heavily damaged by fire, just before Thanksgiving
By: Scott Cook
Email: news@abc6.com
Twitter: @ABC6
WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) – A 100-year-old church is heavily damaged by fire Wednesday night.
Firefighters were called out to the Woodbury Union Church around 7 p.m. and had been on scene into the early hours of the morning on Thanksgiving.
It started as a two-alarm fire outside of the building but the flames quickly spread up the siding of the church, and into the attic.
Crews worked for hours as flames engulfed the steeple of the church.
The steeple eventually collapsed from the pressure of water hoses.
Luckily there was nobody inside at the time of the fire and no injuries have been reported.
“Due to the construction of the building and the high winds, the fire got up into the ceiling. We had to pull everything out and go into defensive operations,” Captain Alan Gouveia told ABC6.
State fire marshals are still investigating into the cause of the fire.
The church’s pastor says no events were planned for Thanksgiving.
The Woodbury union church has been a fixture in Warwick for more than 100 years.
The congregation started in April of 1907.
A little more than a year later the church was built and dedicated in May of 1908.
It was named after Samuel Woodbury who donated the land.
The church was also hit by fire in 1933 and parishioners rallied to rebuild.
The church grew over the years changed names and went through many improvements.
In 2008 they celebrated their 100th anniversary.
© WLNE-TV / ABC6 2018
