Rogue Sprinkler Causes Damage at the Bar Harbor Congregational Church
BAR HARBOR—Pastor Rob Benson never imagined he’d be faced with a soggy church, trying to determine how best to clean it up.
That’s what happened, however, this weekend when one sprinkler activated for an unknown reason at the Bar Harbor Congregational Church on Friday afternoon. A passerby heard the alarm squawking and called Benson who arrived at the church and found one sprinkler head ejecting water. The Bar Harbor Fire Department arrived and confirmed that there was no fire.
There was, however, a lot of water, and that water caused damage to the balcony, sanctuary, and the basement where the church holds classes and has a kitchen.
Many hymnals and Bibles are beyond repair, Benson said.
But many things are also undamaged such as the church’s piano and organ.
The true extant of the damage will be assessed this week.
Service this Sunday was held outside.
After a Facebook call for help, the community rallied.
“The community was amazing with initial cleanup and schlepping and drying,” Benson said. “Folks showed up. (They were) good—no great ‘neighbors’ in the highest sense. BHFD was legendarily helpful.”
People removed sopping rugs and other items, mopped floors, dried, used the wet-vacuum, catalogued items such as hymnals, Bibles, and food items for the backpack program, which hopes to decrease food insecurity for Mount Desert Island families one backpack at a time.
There is currently no time table for repairs or next steps. Remediation personnel are still assessing the situation and what the church will need to repair or reconstruct. The church has insurance, but they do not yet know what the insurance will cover.
“When we get a green light we’ll need some help putting things back together including backpack program food items,” Benson said. “It’s both more extensive and less extensive than it might seem.”
Benson said he personally is grateful that there was no actual fire, that all eight heads in the sanctuary didn’t go off, that all the sprinklers in the building didn’t go off.
But most of all, he said, he’s “grateful for the congregation and community who—not than I’m surprised but I sure am humbled and grateful—has just stepped up and pitched in. Seeing people just coming over on a busy Friday afternoon in the peak summer season warmed my heart immensely.”
All photos courtesy of the Bar Harbor Congregational Church.
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