Fast-Burning Fire Destroys Church In Westland
WESTLAND (WWJ) - A local congregation is left without a place to worship after an overnight fire destroyed a church in Westland.
The fire took off around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at Christ Temple Apostolic Church on Middle Belt Road just south of Annapolis Avenue. Flames could be seen shooting through the roof of the building as thick, black smoke filled the air.
Officials said no one was inside the church at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.
Wednesday morning, all that remained of the church was the shell of a building. The fire completely gutted the interior, knocking down the roof and windows, although the walls are still standing. Water left over from the firefighting effort had frozen over, leaving thick icicles hanging from nearby utility lines.
Investigators are now trying to determine a cause of the fire.
Harry Johnson, whose grandfather built the church in the late 40s, says they are down but not out.
"The church is not the building, the church is the people, it's the faith of the people," Johnson told WWJ's Ron Dewey. "And it can be rebuilt, it's just the bricks and mortar that are destroyed right now."
Still, Johnson said it's hard not to feel emotional looking at the charred shell of a place that means so much to so many people.
"There are just so many memories, so many good memories," he said with a tear in his eye. "The annual dinners where everybody would come out here dressed in white and just cook and eat and praise the lord and just have a good time. A lot of people went through this church."
There was no immediate word of where the congregation will meet in the meantime.