(Anindya Ghose via AP). The historic church was consecrated in 1855 and was designated as a New York City landmark in 1968.
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New York City firefighters walk at the historic Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava that was gutted by fire at Orthodox Easter.
The blaze at the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava began shortly before 7 p.m.
The flames continued to destroy the church all through the night and on Monday morning firefighters were still shooting their water cannons at the building which feel to ashes. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The four-alarm fire brought in 170 firefighters from the New York Fire Department, and they still battled the fire for three hours before they knocked its main body back.
“It was devastation, honestly”, said Julijana Stefanovic, 22, a parishioner from Queens who wore a sweatshirt featuring the Serbian flag.
Dex Pipovic, a regular attendant at the church for the last seven years told PIX11 News that the fire left him aghast.
The roof of the Gothic Revival style building was extensively damaged, and the interior artwork and stained glass windows were completely destroyed as well.
The fire broke out early Sunday evening on the same day as the Orthodox Easter holiday.
The fire took hold of the East Melbourne church around 1.30pm.
“The good news is no one was injured”, Daniel Nigro, NYC fire commissioner said at a news conference. The dramatic moment that the flames shot from the cathedral were caught on camera as onlookers watched as firefighters attempted to battle the blaze. The writer Edith Wharton writes about Trinity Chapel, where she was married, in her novel The Age of Innocence.
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In the U.S., a Serbian Orthodox church has been gutted in NY.
