BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- An intense firefight gutted a 100-year-old church in Beaver Falls and forced part of the Big Beaver Falls Area School District to operate on a delay Wednesday morning.

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"I looked out my bedroom window and I just saw this wall of flames and I thought, oh jeez," said Norman McGowan.

The fire burned for several hours in the 1800 block of Seventh Avenue, but firefighters brought it under control before 7 a.m.
Beaver Falls Fire - Home Video

"The church just burst into flames. It was so intense, I never seen nothing like that," said Joe Caravella, who tried to alert other neighbors about the fire. (Watch The Video)

Fire Chief Mark Stowe said the fire started at about 2:30 a.m. at a commercial building with apartments on the second and third floors.

The fire spread to another commercial building with apartments on the upper two floors, as well as a third building and then to Otterbein United Methodist Church.

"A lot of people didn't believe me," Caravella said. "I said, 'fire, fire, you gotta get out of here.' I had to pull some people out. One lady had her baby. I told her kids, 'Just run.'"

Some people who live in the apartments had to jump to safety, but not everyone could get out on their own.

"We had several people trapped on the second and third floors of the building. Several people did jump from the structure," said Stowe.

Several people were taken to local hospitals. Their injuries were mostly minor.

"I was scared. I come out and seen the flame, and I lost everything," neighbor Mary Cron said.

Moving fast, nothing could stop the fire from engulfing the buildings.

"The next thing I saw was just flames light up all the eaves of the church and I thought, 'Oh man, they couldn't save that church,'" said McGowan.

Nor could nearly a dozen homes be saved.

"I'm upset, it hurts. I have nothing and nowhere to go," said Cron.

Eric Brewer, of Beaver County Emergency Services, said there was a two-hour delay at Beaver Falls High School, Beaver Falls Middle School and Central Elementary School because of the fire.

The pastor of the church said despite the extensive damage the fire did to the building, it won't be the end of the church.

The fire cause the roof of the church to cave in and some of the metal tresses actually melted because of the heat. The church's bell tower is also being checked for stability and may have to be knocked down.

"We've celebrated many weddings, baptisms, births, deaths. And we praise God for all of that," said one of the members of the congregation.

"The church is one of the people. It's not so much a building… We're just going to try to figure out what God would have us do and how he'd have us move forward," said Otterbein's pastor, Brian Keller.

Built in 1901, the church has overcome obstacles in the past.

"They already had a fire once and that was in the early 70s. And so this church underwent through fire once before and came out of it all right. It's incredible to see at times where, in the midst of chaos, tragedy and difficult times, God seems to be able to use us more," Keller said.

Keller said they're still working out where they're going to meet on Sunday morning, but he said the congregation will be meeting. Parishioners said other churches in the area have already come forward to offer meeting space and assistance. There is no word yet on whether the church will be rebuilt.

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