ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, October 14, 1996 TAG: 9610140104
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MELFA
SOURCE: KAREN JOLLY DAVIS LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
A DARING RESCUE by the townspeople of Melfa saved most of the United Methodist Church's interior. Now the congregation is moving on, and counting its blessings.
Days after a fire burned through Melfa United Methodist Church, water still poured through holes in the foundation.
Blackened, soggy roofing filled the 83-year-old sanctuary, and the steeple bell rested in a patch of grass near the street.
But the feeling in Melfa can best be described as triumphant. Sunday morning, Oct. 6, as the fire blazed over their heads, dozens of townspeople bolted into the church to grab what could be rescued.
``We saved just about everything,'' said the Rev. Ray Crockett, pastor of the 125-member church.
They lost a baby grand piano. But they saved an organ and another piano, all of the carved oak pews, the pictures and plaques off the wall, the altar and altar rail, the communion table, the church records - the works. All the fire got was a shell. And the congregation is already meeting in its social hall.
``I feel we were fortunate that nobody got hurt and we still have a place to worship,'' Crockett said. ``It could have been a whole lot worse.''
About 20 members of the Melfa Methodist Men's Club were eating breakfast in the church social hall about 7:30 when they noticed smoke. At first, they thought it was fog.
But it wasn't. A faulty chimney, surrounded by dry wood, caught fire when the furnace tripped on, Crockett said. The blaze spread through the roof and ceiling up to the front of the church. A neighbor called 911.
But before firefighters arrived, people started showing up - 50 or more men, women, children, Methodists, strangers. They ran in, grabbed something and ran out.
``I had people helping me move pews that I haven't seen before or after,'' Steve Turlington said. He and Rhonda Denston wrestled the church organ outside in what neighbors call a feat of superhuman strength.
The fire proved to be a difficult one to put out.
``They just steady pumped from 7:30 to 3 o'clock,'' Crockett said of the firefighting efforts. In the end, it was the water that did the most damage.
Crockett said investigators spent six hours Sunday determining the cause of the blaze. He's glad that no one started the fire, and church members like Glenda Turlington say the loss would have been much harder to stomach if it had been caused by arson.
Since the fire, congregation members have turned their social hall into a sanctuary, complete with everything that was in the church.
``We're going to rebuild just as soon as we get things organized,'' Crockett said. ``We're waiting for the insurance company.''
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. The gutted interior of the Melfa United Methodistby CNBChurch (right) shows the effects of an Oct. 6 fire caused by a
defective chimney. Townspeople were able to save most of the items
inside the 83-year-old church. 2. Amie Parkes (below, left) kisses
her 8-month-old daughter, Brianna, as her mother, Glenda Turlington,
holds the baby in the church's social hall.