Fire Ravages North Tulsa Church On Christmas Eve

Tulsa firefighters battled a structure fire at a north Tulsa church early Saturday. Crews were called to the Cornerstone FWB Church shortly after 10 a.m.

Neighbors gathered outside to watch the longtime church go up in smoke.

When crews arrived at the church, heavy smoke was pouring from the attic. Firefighters searched the building and found no one inside, according to Public Information Officer Stan May of the Tulsa Fire Department.

The initial attack on the fire was hampered by problems with the water supply.

"Firefighters were almost to the seat of the fire when we lost our water supply and had to pull the firefighters out for a little bit to re-establish the water supply," he said. "By the time they got back in, it had continued to spread in the attic."

A back-up crew hooked up a secondary line to another hydrant, he said.

Thick smoke could be seen billowing from the structure in the 4900 block of East Latimer, near Admiral and Yale, for over an hour. May said the blaze appeared to have started in the southeast corner of the building's attic, but the cause will be determined by fire investigators.

Church members were quickly on scene trying to clean up items including a wooden pulpit and Nativity scene.

"This is a shock," said Donald Phelps, who plays piano at the church. He was married in the church in 1965.

"At least nobody was there," he said.

"Well, I was starting to cry earlier. I'm still on the verge of it," Phelps said. "My son was baptized here. My mother died last year – I was going through her stuff earlier, and she had a certificate from when I went to Vacation Bible School here when I was a kid."

Onlookers, including several church members who rushed over, were helpless as the church caved in.

"There's a lot of memories that's going to go along with the loss, but at the same time, we can build new ones and trust in the Lord," said church leader Shawn Rogers.

"We're still going to serve the Lord and we're still going to be glad and happy on this Christmas Eve, on Jesus' birthday."

The church has a secondary building where they will be able to hold services.

On Sunday, the church is holding its candlelight Christmas service at 11 a.m. That service will be held in the family life building next to the church.