LAFAYETTE PARISH — A Lafayette congregation is beginning the process of recovery after a severe fire early Sunday morning destroyed a nearby building and left the Little Refuge Church damaged.
“That was a 2-story building and it burned to the ground. And so it was big and hot,” Errol Matthews, a church member, said.
The fire started at a home on Huval Street and spread to an adjacent apartment building. According to the Lafayette Fire Department, none of the apartment residents were home at the time, but their dog did not survive.
“The firefighters were busy, busy, busy fighting the fire, and then it extended over to our edifice and they were fighting it on two fronts,” Matthews said.
Flames eventually reached the Little Refuge Church. Matthews said most of the church’s damage came from water used in the process of putting out the fire.
“Well, the Lord blessed us. Our damage, in my opinion, it looks to be about like 25 to 30% of the building was damaged – fire, smoke, and water,” he said.
Matthews said he is grateful for firefighters who fought the flames as if the church were their own. Crews spent hours on the scene, using tarps to cover valuables before water could damage them, he said.
“Chief told us that, ‘You guys are going to be OK. Y'all have a remodeling. Your cases are going to be a remodeling, not a rebuilding.' So, it'll just take us a little time and we'll build back strong,’” Matthews said.
The church has since set up a GoFundMe to help cover repair and recovery costs.
“As one of the mothers said, there’s a silver lining behind every cloud, so we have a problem that we have on hand, but because it’s not as bad as it could have been, then that gives us hope, gives us courage, and we soldier on,” Matthews said.
As of Monday afternoon, the Lafayette Fire Department said there are no new updates in the ongoing investigation.
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