Fire in the historic wooden church of Saint Helena in Nowy Sącz (Lesser Poland Voivodeship). The presbytery of the 17th-century temple burned down. Firefighters managed to remove, among others, historic paintings and a tabernacle from the flooded interior.
The fire was noticed on Sunday (June 16) after 5 a.m. Although the structure of the temple survived, part of the presbytery is charred and the interior was flooded with water.
– The fire spread in the space between the roof covering and the insulation under the roof, which was made up of sawdust. The fire spread very quickly. Firefighters are dismantling the formwork that covers the wooden structure of the walls and pouring water over the sawdust used for insulation, which is smoldering, said Paweł Motyka, spokesman for the Nowy Sącz fire brigade.
Firefighters saved altars and historic paintings
From inside the temple, firefighters removed, among others, the tabernacle with the Holy Sacrament, the main altar and two side altars, as well as historic paintings from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
The church of Saint Helena in Nowy Sącz, built in 1686, has a wooden, log structure. The causes of the fire will be determined by a police investigation.
Main photo source: State Fire Service in Nowy Sącz