Fire heavily damages St. Mary’s administrative building

It was an emotional day in Cambridge as members of St. Mary’s church checked the damage done to the administrative building after a fire broke out early Monday morning. The administrative building is where St. Mary’s pastor lives and where church staff conduct meetings. One church member rushed from her home to check on the priest after her son called her that a fire had broken out at St. Mary’s.

Diane Baur, a church member says, “The road was already closed off and the flames were shooting out of the roof and the smoke was black very very black smoke.”

Joe Flanagan, the Deputy Chief State Fire Marshal says, “Upon the arrival they had heavy fire showing through the roof that took them a while to extinguish. They had many companies from throughout the area assist.”

St. Mary’s church members were relieved to find out pastor Bill Lawler was out of town for the weekend and no one was injured, however most of the building was lost. The damage to the building is estimated to be approximately $350,000.

Investigators did find some of the weekend’s monetary donations, but the church’s records were gone.

Despite the destruction, Pastor Bill Lawler was reunited with his best friend, the parish cat, Señor Gato, who had gone missing during the fire and appeared behind the trees later that afternoon.

The investigation into the cause of the fire is on-going.