To say the visit to the former St. Augustine’s the day after the towering inferno that gutted the church was depressing would be an understatement.
About the only positive thing I could say is that at least all the timber, potential fuel for another fire (the gigantic piles of wood from the roof collapse), was consumed the night before , so the possibility for another arson at the church is probably pretty low.
But the flames rose so high that even the uppermost reaches of the spire caught on fire, and with the copper flashing removed, it was vulnerable, even with the slate roof.
Not surprisingly, and I reluctantly support this, the City of St. Louis is going to demolish the church, which is only fair for the residents of Hebert Street on the north side.
The roof of the north apse and the stained glass window, are hanging on, though there is no way they are salvageable.
The belltower is compromised, as well, as seen above.
The damage to the apse, caused by the first fire, was only exacerbated.
For the love of God, no, the stained glass can’t be salvaged. I have talked to an actual expert in the field, and he told me there is no point to risk anyone’s lives trying to save it. While it looks intact, he told me, there would actually be all sorts of heat cracks in the glass, rendering it impossible to move without it crumbling.
In that same vein, the gable above the stained glass now has literally no structural support, and could come crashing down in high winds.
Would you want to work on scaffolding hours on end below that?
The southern exposure of the building shows the damage of the first and third fires.
Below, the ravaged sacristy, where the first fire began, lies below the apse.
So personally, I think the first fire was probably accidental, starting in a logical place for people to have been sheltering. However, the second two fires, particularly the third one, are totally suspicious. The third fire started in the wide open sanctuary, where no one would have been sheltering in the cold snap that came that night. It spread and ignited the huge pile of wood far too fast to be an out-of-control cooking or heating fire.
This fire and the one at Norvell Shapleigh are totally suspicious.
Unfortunately, such a huge conflagration can consume the evidence of an accelerant that can be traced back to a suspect, so unless someone is caught in the act, I have been told it is very hard to catch an arsonist.
