WAVE 3 - Louisville, KYChurch destroyed by fire but services will continue Sunday

Church destroyed by fire but services will continue Sunday

By Elizabeth Donatelli

LOUISVILLE (WAVE) -- The state fire marshal and ATF officials spent the day at 822 Hillview Boulevard sifting through rubble to try to figure out what caused the 3-alarm fire that destroyed Unity Baptist Church Thursday night. WAVE 3's Elizabeth Donatelli investigates.

Denzil Wethington is a deacon at Unity Baptist Church, which is located just off Preston Highway near the Jefferson County line. On Friday, he stared at the place he has spent countless hours, but the inside is almost unrecognizable, saying it was especially rough "to watch it go up in flames when you can do nothing about it except stand there and watch."

Wethington told us everything seemed fine at the last service only a day before the blaze broke out just before 8 p.m. Thursday. "We was here Wednesday night at our Wednesday night service; everything was fine and everything looked great, but to look at it now, it just looks so sad."

The building is destroyed, along with a library donated by a parishioner and a homemade altar. But those are material things, and the church pastor Bob Rodgers says they can and will rebuild.

"The opportunity here is to continue on with the Lord's work, and that's what we plan to do. Our plan is to rebuild," Rodgers said.

They're already getting plenty of help, with an outpouring of sympathy and support from the community. One woman from a nearby Methodist church stopped by while we were there to offer the congregation a place to worship until other arrangements are made. She was just one of many offering help.

Rodgers says services will continue as scheduled this Sunday, with the congregation meeting at Hebron Middle School at 9:45 a.m.

It took about 30 minutes for 50 firefighters from three different fire departments to gain control of the fire. No one was injured, and investigators were still trying to determine what caused the fire late Friday.

Online Reporter: Elizabeth Donatelli

Online Producer: Michael Dever