Today marks 10 years since the devastating fire at St Francis Xavier’s Catholic Church, Arncliffe. The evening of Wednesday 22nd September 2004 saw an arson attack, at about 9.30pm, which led to a fire that severely damaged the beautiful Church. The fire trucks arrived just after 9.40pm, after a call from patrons of the Arncliffe Hotel after seeing smoke coming from the tower and an orange glow in the Church. The eastern side doors had been kicked in and there were two points of ignition – the wooden organ and the pews – creating intense fires. There was a large gaping hole in the floor where the organ fell through the blazing floorboards, and many of the heavy timber pews were destroyed, along with statues and artwork. Prompt action by the fire brigade saved the historic Church. Fr Brendan was informed by the fire-fighter that, had the fire brigade arrived 20 minutes later, the whole Church would have burnt down. Apart from the flooring, pews and organ, the majority of the damage was smoke and heat related. Nevertheless, it was a huge project to repair damage to the marble and sandstone fittings, leadlight windows, plaster ceilings and timberwork. Restoration work commenced in January 2005. The Church was out of action for fourteen months. The repair bill was approximately one million dollars. Once the work was completed, the restored Church was rededicated on December 4th 2005. (Photos from parish archives)
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 21:17:12 +0000
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