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Winfield Grace UMC damaged by fire
Written: 9/23/2009 WINFIELD—An early morning electrical fire caused damage to classrooms at Grace United Methodist Church in Winfield Aug. 23. The fire was reported at approximately 5:15 a.m. by the church custodian. According to Ron Surface, the church historian and lay member to Annual Conference, the custodian was using the vacuum cleaner in preparation for Sunday worship and realized a circuit breaker had been tripped. “The circuit breaker wouldn’t stay on when he turned it on. He started back up-stairs and encountered smoke and fl
“The building was struck by lightning on July 21. It scorched some woodwork and reset some clocks, but the most serious damage was to the console that controls the pipe organ. The fire marshal believes that the wiring may have been compromised by the power surge from the lightning, which could explain [the Aug. 23] electrical fire.” Rev. Kevin Hopkins, church pastor, said the fire started in the junior-high classroom, damaging it, the senior-high room and the college room. “A clock in one of the rooms is completely melted but still ticking. The hands are gone, but it’s still ticking.” Hopkins said. “I wore my fire hat to church that Sunday. Between the lightening strike and the fire, it’s been summer of fire trucks!” Hopkins joked. “But we feel pretty fortunate. The church is not this building; it’s the people. But, still, it’s nice to have a building.”
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