A fire broke out inside St. Mark’s Church on Hamilton Terrace starting at 11 p.m. Jan. 26, according to Police Constable Luke Leballeur. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Leballeur said electrical engineers are scheduled to inspect the water system inside the church today, and “the footpaths will hopefully be open tomorrow.”
Naomi Kuagben, a local resident, said she attended Sunday mass at St. Mark’s Jan. 22, as she has done regularly since Christmas. She said she noticed the church was unusually cold due to a fault in the heating system, a technical failure that may have caused the fire.
“There was no heating at all,” Kuagben said. “They were bringing in people this week to look at it, actually.”
Paint & Sip, a social event for the neighborhood, was also canceled Jan. 21 due to an issue with the heating, according to the St. Mark’s Facebook.
Lucas Bloom (’23), a resident on Hamilton Terrace, said he started to smell smoke while walking his dog and knew the situation had escalated when he heard sirens after 11 p.m. He said he knew the fire had burned through the spire because “the top of the church was a completely different color to the rest of it.”
That sick feeling I had, that helpless feeling I had watching that ancient church burn and being unable to do anything about it.
— Performing Arts Teacher Lorraine Davis
Bloom said the fire is unfortunate for the local neighborhood since “everybody knows where that church was” and it will “definitely be sad for the rest of the community.”
Meanwhile, Performing Arts Teacher Lorraine Davis said she felt “shock and denial” when she found out about the church burning down.
“It was a mix of disbelief and wishing it wasn’t true,” Davis said. “That sick feeling I had, that helpless feeling I had watching that ancient church burn and being unable to do anything about it.”
Davis said the Chamber Orchestra and Concert Choir have previously rehearsed and performed in St. Mark’s Church. She said the Chamber Orchestra most recently performed in the church last spring for their final concert of the year.
“We just played there it feels like, and it stops my heart to think that all of that is now ash,” Davis said. “It is beautiful and it had a very fine acoustic with so many beautiful wooden surfaces and wooden ceilings that are all gone now.”
Sabina Peterson Rajalingam (’25), who is part of the Chamber Orchestra, also said the burning of the church has a personal impact, considering all of the school performances that have taken place there.
“It’s a tradition after the music tour to go and play there and recap everything that we have done,” Rajalingam said. “Obviously, ASL has done lots of performances with orchestra, band and choir in the church, and so it’s very close to home.”
ASL has done lots of performances with orchestra, band and choir in the church, and so it’s very close to home.
— Sabina Peterson Rajalingam (’25)
Davis said, despite the elegance of the Victorian church space, the local community had made it feel “very homey and comforting.”
Davis said the local people are the backbone of the church. Although she said the loss of the building is saddening, she said the community will rebuild itself over time.
“So many people brought their hearts to that building that to lose that building is a profound loss,” Davis said. “I have faith that the people will figure out how to go on and maybe not rebuild literally, but rebuild as a community and come up with some next steps.”
Due to the strong connection that the school had built with the church, Davis said it is crucial to support the church’s community during this difficult time.
“It’s a church that has always loved music, so they’ve been good neighbors to us,” Davis said. “And I strongly feel that the call will come for us to be good neighbors to them as they rebuild.”
