Late in the afternoon of May 27, 1965, a cold air mass swept into Connecticut and collided with the day's ninety-four degree heat touching off severe weather all across the region. Lightning struck a dugout and injured a little leaguer and his father in Wallingford, and hit other structures around the state. Off the coast, a tanker ran aground from the rough seas and widespread power outages occurred.

It was no different in Simsbury. Lightning struck behind the beautiful landmark First Church of Christ on the corner of Hopmeadow and West Streets, touching off a catastrophic chain of events. A tree toppled into some electrical lines knocking a primary wire onto the secondaries servicing the Church and its other buildings. 4,800 volts slammed into the main electrical switch inside the church.

Origin of the fire.

Church sexton Quentin Sprague and his wife Judy lived directly across from the church on Hopmeadow Street. Shortly before 6:00 pm, Mrs. Sprague noticed an orange glow reflected in the rain covered street in front of the church. As Mr. Sprague went to investigate, his wife called Senior Minister Lyman Potter and reported that they had seen some strange lights in the sanctuary windows. Mr. Potter left immediately for the church from his home on Firetown Road but found his way blocked by the downed tree and wires on West Street. He quickly detoured back up Firetown Road and raced down Hopmeadow Street pulling into the parking lot. He was greeted by the sight of smoke coming from the steeple, and no one else was to be seen.

As he ran up to the sanctuary he could clearly see flames visible through the windows of the balcony. Mr. Lyman then ran back to the intersection where the lines were down and asked the man directing traffic there if he was a policeman. No, said the man, he was a volunteer firefighter. Mr. Lyman took over directing traffic while the firefighter hurried to the station to raise the alarm.

Electricity was out in the north end of town so the dispatcher was unable to activate the station sirens nor transmit an alarm to the firefighters, many of whom would have been unable to receive it via their Plectron receivers anyway with the power being out. Telephones were still operating however, so the Ensign-Bickford steam plant was called and ordered to blow the steam whistle which could be heard all over town, to raise the alarm. Firefighter Robert Hintermister recalled dinner being interrupted at 6:27 pm by the whistle. He hurried to the Bushy Hill Station and placed a call to the dispatcher, as other firefighters began to call in and were directed to respond to the church.

Someone had the presence of mind to call the local television station which placed the urgent message on their 6:00 pm broadcast. Captain Charlie Behrens came out of his place of business in Unionville, got into his car and turned on the radio. Hearing the news he raced to the scene and was there before any other West Simsbury Station firefighter.

	Bystanders assist firefighters with stretching a hose line.		Townspeople, many of them teenagers, frantically remove materials from the office.

As units began to respond to the scene, their sirens attracted other firefighters and civilians. An engine arrived from the Main Station and began to establish a supply line at a hydrant on the corner of Drake Hill Road. Firefighter Wesley Case arrived and threw a three-way manifold in his vehicle, grabbed some 2½" hose, and with his arm hanging out his window dragging the line, drove across the street and up the driveway to quickly establish a supply line. Bystanders jumped in and began to help stretch hose.

The Boy Scout Hall.

After having to also detour around the obstruction on West Street, Robert Hintermister arrived on Engine 3 which was ordered to the rear parking lot. As they proceeded to the back of the church they discovered that the Boy Scout Hall was also on fire. The lightning and resulting power surge had not only ignited the church and the hall, but also several trees and a house further up on West Street.

	Damage in the rear of the structure.

Their 500 gallons of water would surely be needed for the church but the decision was made to attack the Scout Hall. Firefighter Billy Rose grabbed a small hand line and quickly knocked the fire down with minimal water. The crew then turned their attention to the church. Fire in the church's interior was knocked down and initially thought to have been under control but it soon became apparent that it was rapidly extending up the inside of the wall and into the under-roof overhead.

Heavy smoke pours from the roof and steeple.

The "Third Meetinghouse" had been constructed in 1830 and that construction would prove to be a detriment and a savior. The exterior and interior walls were built independent of one another being spaced about ten inches apart with each having their own studs without any fire stops in the framing. In essence, there was an vast, uninterrupted void between the two walls from corner to corner, and from the foundation to the roof line. This meant that fire could travel pretty much anywhere it pleased.

In addition, the framing members had been drying for about 135 years, and the coarse surface of the rough-sawn lumber made it easier for the fire to attack the wood.

A hole was cut in an exterior wall and a line was stuck in as an attempt to make some headway, but it was ineffective because the large void had allowed the fire to travel so extensively. Mutual aid assistance was beginning to be requested and personnel began to work on establishing another water supply as it was currently inadequate.

	A firefighter stands at a rear door as fire starts to show from the roof.

Bob Hintermister and Billy Rose grabbed a large line to make the limited water supply more effective and entered the rear of the church to the right of the pulpit. Firefighter Hintermister recalls that the visibility had grown worse because of the build-up of smoke and the onset of darkness. At the same time Firefighter Doug Grandin was preparing to enter the sanctuary from the opposite side in the rear. He recalled an eerie "blue fog" undulating gently below the ceiling with tiny flames dancing across the surface.

The view from the corner of Hopmeadow & West Streets. Notice the firefighter on a ladder fighting a fire in the chapel at the lower right.

Hintermister and Rose were frustrated with the available water and concerned about leaving the relative shelter of the balcony that ran down both sides of the church, to reach the main body of fire that had obviously extended greatly. The firefighters were unaware that there was also a void between the roof and the plaster ceiling and that an inferno was raging in the space unbeknownst to them.

	Fire begins to breakout through the front façade.

As they stood there trying to determine the severity of the blaze and the dangers involved in reaching it, fire burst through ceiling and erupted from the rooftop. Not long thereafter, the ceiling fell into the church and across the pews, and the roof followed shortly afterwards.

With the roof down, attention and efforts turned to dousing the exposed support timbers at the base of the steeple. This is where construction aided the effort instead of hindering it.

Originally there had been a large opening in the steeple but it had been closed-in several years prior because of a problem with roosting pigeons. Had this opening still existed it would have contributed greatly to the available oxygen for the fire, and its spread throughout the steeple. During the same time as this alteration, a leak had developed in the steeple and a heavy piece of lead was installed above the bell to repair it. This also kept the fire from extending vertically through the column.

With the roof collapsed, attention is turned to combating the flames which threaten to bring the steeple down.

The Unionville Fire Department arrived on the scene with the only apparatus having a mounted deck gun, a device capable of throwing a volume of water larger and further than a traditional hand line. The apparatus was positioned in the rear parking lot which allowed for the best angle to attack the flames at the base of the steeple. Unionville was coupled to a supply line which had been stretched from a hydrant tied into Ensign-Bickford's boiler plant. By taking advantage of the extra pressure afforded to this supply line by the steam boiler, Unionville was able to knock-down the major body of fire threatening the steeple. Firefighters needed to throw a pole ladder to the steeple to extinguish the remaining hotspots with hand lines.

	Firefighters work from a pole ladder to extinguish hotspots in the steeple.

Personnel worked well into the night to finish the job. Mutual aid agencies responded from Avon, Canton, North Canton, East Granby and Lost Acres to help fight the fire and to provide standby coverage to the Town of Simsbury.

The next day, a building wrecker approached a church trustee wanting the clean-up job. Their recommendation was to push the intact but unstable façade and steeple back into the burned-out remains for easy disposal. Not ready to give up on the structure, it was decided to try and secure the steeple as there was great concern about it falling forward onto Hopmeadow Street. The old, large wooden framing members of the steeple seem to be holding, although very badly charred.

The Church was having difficulty finding a construction company as everyone was closing up shop for the Memorial Day weekend and Friday was passing quickly. Finally a company was located in New Britain who immediately sent a crew who secured the steeple with cables to some very large pine trees to the rear of the church. The company did a thorough appraisal the following week and suggested a way to preserve both the historic façade and the steeple.

View of the pulpit from the organ balcony.		The north wall and balcony.		The organ balcony and lower steeple.		The south wall and balcony.

The steeple was cut into three sections and lowered to the ground with a crane, as was the church's bell. Workers noted that the steeple was listing four inches to the north. The heavy timber construction of the steeple while very badly damaged had helped to save it.

Newspaper photograph showing an aerial view of the church with the steeple and damaged roof removed.

The chapel and office building to the north were demolished as they had suffered significant damage during the fire. The church was rebuilt and lengthened slightly, and brought up to modern building and fire codes. The sections of the steeple were stored, repaired, and then placed back upon the church in their rightful place in the Fall of 1967. It was a town-wide event with practically every resident crowding the street.

On May 28, 1995, as part of the church's 300th Anniversary celebration, a "Fire Sunday" was held, 30 years and one day after the devastating event. As part of the commemoration, the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company was invited to participate and the department was honored by the church for its role in saving the building, and received a standing ovation from the congregation. First Church of Christ member and Company Chaplain Robert Hintermister gave the sermon at this service.

The narrative for this page was constructed with excerpts from ". . . To Sette Ourselves In Gospel Order . . .", A History of First Church of Christ at Massaco, Simsbury, Connecticut by Lyman G. Potter, 2002, Congregational Church Fire sermon given by Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company Chaplain Robert Hintermister on May 28, 1995, and personal interviews with Firefighters Wesley Case, Daniel Hayes and Ken Myers.

We would also like to acknowledge and thank the First Church of Christ and their Historian Donna Hopkins for their assistance and use of their photographs, and the Simsbury Historical Society for their assistance.