On a quiet Juneteenth afternoon that turned anything but, a three-alarm blaze ripped through the landmark South Bushwick Reformed Church and left one of the neighborhood’s most recognizable buildings in ruins. The June 19 fire gutted the wooden 1853 sanctuary, brought the steeple crashing down into the flames, and sent smoke drifting across South Bushwick as a large FDNY response converged on the scene. Congregation leaders and preservation advocates say they are determined to salvage whatever pieces they can while city agencies and engineers pick through the wreckage and size up what, if anything, can be saved.
Arson inquiry advances
FDNY fire marshals and NYPD investigators are now treating the June 19 blaze as a possible arson case, according to law enforcement sources cited by the New York Daily News. Police have not made any arrests in connection with the fire. Witnesses told ABC7 they saw someone hanging around outside the church, then running off as the flames took hold, a detail that investigators are weighing alongside video footage and neighborhood social media posts.
Flames, collapse and response
FDNY crews were dispatched shortly after 1:20 p.m., and the incident was quickly upgraded to a third alarm, with nearly 200 firefighters and EMS personnel responding, NBC New York reported. Video from the scene showed the church’s steeple folding into the inferno, and CBS New York reported that firefighters had the blaze largely under control by mid afternoon while officials stressed that the cause remained under investigation. No serious civilian injuries were reported.
City orders, preservation and fundraising
In the fire’s aftermath, Department of Buildings inspectors slapped a full vacate order on the property and directed that safety fencing be installed around the damaged site, Patch reported. The New York Landmarks Conservancy said the fellowship hall and rectory may still be salvageable, even as the main sanctuary is being treated as a total loss, and noted that the Department of Buildings has recommended demolition of the wrecked structure. The congregation has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover temporary worship space and engineering assessments, and coverage in the New York Daily News reported that the fundraiser had pulled in more than $14,000 as of July 11. The church has also posted details on its website, South Bushwick Church.
What’s next for the neighborhood
The loss cuts deep for neighbors and preservationists alike. The congregation traces its roots back to colonial-era Dutch settlers, and the 1853 clapboard sanctuary was one of only a small number of landmarked wooden houses of worship anywhere in New York City, Bushwick Daily reported. FDNY and NYPD fire-investigation teams are still working through the painstaking origin-and-cause process, and officials say they will release their findings once the ongoing probes allow.
