Cambridge

Cambridge Church Steeple Taken Down Following Huge Easter Fire

The cause of the fire remains under investigation

NBC Universal, Inc.

Following a massive fire at a Cambridge, Massachusetts, church that broke out on Easter Sunday, crews on Tuesday tore down the steeple on the historic house of worship.

Workers were on a cherry-picker and working a crane, taking tiles down piece by piece from atop the century-old church.

The fire started at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Faith Lutheran Church, just 30 minutes after people had left Mass.

The section of Broadway where the church is located was closed until the steeple came down Tuesday.

The Faith Lutheran Church in Cambridge went up in flames on Sunday, prompting a massive emergency response and even forcing evacuations of nearby buildings. Luckily, no one was hurt.

Despite the fire tearing down most of the church from the inside, the steeple was left standing. However, the building inspector has determined that it's not structurally sound, which is why it needed to come down and why the street remains closed.

Many church members were seen there on Monday, looking at the remnants of the structure.

According to the Faith Lutheran Church website, the building was put up in 1909 by Swedish immigrants, keeping a small congregation since its inception in the late 1800s.

Parishioners hope some of the church's original parts can still be salvaged.

Cambridge fire crews have been working to contain a fire inside of Faith Lutheran Church in Cambridge since 5:30 on Sunday. Buildings in the surrounding area were evacuated, and nearby streets were shut down. No one was inside the church when the fire began.

"The building is the place of gathering, and now we need to divorce ourselves of that and say, 'Okay, we gather as a community,'" parishioner Larry Parnell said. "It's neat to see the cross still up there and maybe they could save that."

It's unclear when the residents of the six or so homes that were evacuated will be able to return to their houses.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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