NEW YORK— A fire broke out Sunday morning, August 21, at the Cathedral of St. Demetrios in Astoria at about 10AM during the Divine Liturgy. Thankfully, due to the direct intervention of the church sacristan the fire was quickly put out and the danger averted. Firefighters arrived in record time and ordered the evacuation of the church to make sure the fire was completely extinguished. The fuse panel and the surrounding area were doused with water causing considerable damage. The water ran down from the church to the basement and caused great damage to the offices of the community. Computers and files were transferred directly to the community center on Monday and offices functioned normally. The Dean of St. Demetrios Astoria, Fr. Nektarios Papazafiropoulos spoke with the National Herald about fire, noting that “the fire broke out during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy” and that “the sacristan when he heard the noise that the sparks make from the fuses rushed in and using the fire extinguishers in the church managed to put out the fire.”
Asked about the extent of losses Fr. Nektarios noted that most of the damage was caused by the water that flooded the offices. After making sure the church was safe, the firefighters allowed the Divine Liturgy to continue and Fr. Dionysius Koulianos and the sacristan completed the service.