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160-Year-Old Manhattan Church Completely Destroyed In New York Fire, Over 170 Firefighters Dispatched To Scene

By Tara West
Published on: 13:51 PST, May 1, 2016

The 160-year-old Serbian Cathedral of Saint Sava located in midtown Manhattan appears to have been completely gutted as fire engulfed the building. The blaze was so powerful that at one point, flames burst out of the front rose window as over 170 firefighters attempted to battle the fire below.

A fire at the Serbian Cathedral of Saint Sava in midtown Manhattan has been upgraded to a “fourth alarm” fire, meaning that 39 units and roughly 170 firefighters should be on the scene to help control the blaze. Fortunately, no one is believed to have been in the historic church when it went up in flames. The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but it was revealed that multiple services had taken place early in the day.

The church was celebrating Orthodox Easter and held a Confession and Communion service at 9 a.m., a liturgy at 10 a.m., and a lunch at 1:00 p.m. However, when the blaze broke out at around 7:00 p.m., there were no slated Easter activities in the church. The historic church was consecrated in 1855 and was designated as a New York City landmark in 1968. The church was designed by the acclaimed architect Richard M. Upjohn and is referred to in the novel The Age of Innocence after the writer of the novel, Edith Wharton, was married in the beautiful building.

Unfortunately, the historic church has seemingly been destroyed in the fire which appears to have rapidly consumed the aging structure. The dramatic moment when the flames shot from the cathedral were caught on camera as onlookers watched as firefighters attempted to battle the blaze. Here are a few of the amazing photos shared on social media following the devastating fire.

This dramatic video uploaded by the New York City’s Mayor’s Office shows just how much damage the church sustained. In the video, you can see that the entire interior of the church is engulfed in flames with no sign of slowing despite the firefighters’ best efforts below.

Another video taken from above the fire shows the extensive roof damage, with the church appearing to be a complete loss.

NBC reports that the Orthodox church has approximately 700 parishioners with Easter celebrations taking place earlier in the day. At the time of the fire, no one was reportedly inside the building; however, the church’s caretaker was at the scene when the blaze started. The caretaker allegedly attempted to run back into the building when the blaze began but was quickly overtaken by smoke and forced to leave. The caretaker was treated for minor smoke inhalation at the scene but is expected to recover fully.

A church priest, the Rev. Djokan Majstorovic, spoke to the Associated Press about his attempts to make it to the church after he heard about the fire. He says it was like being in “a nightmare” as he tried to make his way through a sea of firefighters. While the full extent of the damage is not known, the FDNY has deemed the structure unstable after a portion of the roof collapsed.

[Photo by Anindya Ghose via AP Images]

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