Published: October 17, 2009 08:57 pm      

Kerens First Baptist destroyed by fire

On a day in which the community of Kerens celebrated community wide, it also dealt with disaster. The Kerens First Baptist Church was destroyed by fire early Saturday morning.

Firefighters were called to the church about 3 a.m. Saturday after the fire was spotted by a Kerens Police officer on patrol.

Firefighters from Kerens, Powell, Trinidad and Corsicana battled the blaze that destroyed the sanctuary of the facility. A nearby educational building used for Sunday School was spared from the flames.

The State Fire Marshal’s office has been called to investigate the blaze, said Frank Steed, a Kerens area resident and president of the Emergency Service District No. 1.

The church will hold Sunday morning worship services at 10:50 a.m. at the Kerens Ex-Students Association building, according to Cindy Carnige, church secretary.

Carnige said she learned of the fire from an early morning phone call from the church’s pastor, Wes Johnson.

“Brother Wes called me at 3:30 and said the building was engulfed,” she said.

Carnige said some of the Sunday School services have been organized in other places by the class teachers.

The Corsicana Emergency Corps and the Salvation Army provided assistance to emergency responders at the scene.

The Kerens Cotton Harvest Festival took place in downtown Kerens Saturday, just a few blocks from the smoldering remains of the church. Some of those at the festival recalled the church fondly.

“I was baptized there when I was 9 years old,” recalled Bobbie Nichols, now a Corsicana resident. “It’s a very sad thing.”

Tanya Duggins, a Kerens resident, said she “grew up in that church.

“We heard an explosion, and by the time I got out of the house, it was fully involved,” said Duggins, who lives near the church. She said she and several neighbors used garden hoses to keep the roofs of their houses wet, as embers from the blaze showered the area.

“I have a lot of memories from that church,” Duggins said. “But, God has a bigger plan for us.”

The church was to have played host to a funeral and luncheon Saturday, but the fire forced last-minute changes, with the funeral moved to the nearby Paschal Funeral Home, and another community church — Kerens Church of Christ — stepping up to provide the luncheon.

“I got a call about 5 a.m. asking if we could help,” said Homer Wasson, Kerens resident and a member of the Church of Christ. “We got it all ready for them ... we’re proud they asked us to help.”

—————

Click here to e-mail Bob Belcher.

Click here to Soundoff on this story.