WEYBURN – A possible lightning strike on the roof of the Weyburn Free Methodist Church in the early morning hours Saturday resulted in a fire in the roof of the church building.
“The current theory is that the building was struck by lightning some time around 4 a.m., and then (Saturday) morning some people at the playground noticed smoke coming out of the roof and called 911,” said Pastor Ian Isaak in an email message to the church members.
He added on Sunday the lightning strike was their theory, as an active thunderstorm had hit Weyburn on Friday evening and early Saturday morning, but this hasn't yet been determined by Fire Department as the official cause.
“The fire department did a great job of putting out the fire and saving the rest of the building. The damage seems to be contained mostly to the roof/attic area of the offices and sanctuary. There is also some water damage in the walls and ceilings of the offices and possibly the sanctuary, which is expected.”
He noted nobody was in the church at the time of the fire and they are not aware of any other loss of property or other items in the building.
“The damage could have been so much worse, and we thank the Lord for His protection and provision for us,” he said. “We want to thank our amazing fire department for their quick work and for risking their own well-being to save our building.”
Isaak added the church extended a big thank you to volunteers Brad Alexander, Ken Fedun, Norm Alexander and Jason Casganette, who worked most of the morning and into the afternoon removing debris, setting up tarps, securing the building, and starting the process of getting the electricity back on.
The church was able to hold their Sunday morning service in the fellowship hall, and expect future services will continue there for the next few weeks while repairs are done to the roof and the wiring damaged in the fire.
