160-year-old Mass. church called 'total loss" after lightning strike

Robert Besser
07 Jun 2023, 03:47 GMT+10

Spencer, Massachusetts Fire Chief Robert Parsons said in an email that a June 2 fire that burned down a 160-year-old town church was likely caused by a lightning strike
The First Congregational Church in Spencer, central Massachusetts, some 10 miles west of Worcester, caught fire after a storm struck the area
The fire caused the church's steeple to fall after it was engulfed in flames

SPENCER, Massachusetts: Spencer, Massachusetts Fire Chief Robert Parsons has said that a June 2 fire that burned down a 160-year-old town church was likely caused by a lightning strike.

The First Congregational Church in Spencer, central Massachusetts, some 10 miles west of Worcester, caught fire after a storm struck the area.

The fire caused the church's steeple to fall after it was engulfed in flames.

Parsons said the building was a total loss, but no injuries were reported in the fire, which drew nearly 100 firefighters from some 20 departments.

There has been a church in the area since the 1700s. A church on the site was also lost to fire in 1862.

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