LAWRENCE, MASS. (WHDH) - Investigators determined that the cause of a four-alarm blaze that tore through a church rectory in Lawrence on Monday night was electrical.
Flames broke out in a void space in the first-floor ceiling of the rectory of Corpus Christi Parish at Holy Rosary Church on Essex Street just before 6 p.m., Lawrence Mayor Kendrys Vasquez, Lawrence Fire Chief Brian F. Moriarty, Lawrence Police Chief Roy P. Vasque, and State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey announced.
The only heat source was an electrical cable, they added.
A pastor inside the rectory was able to escape safely.
Firefighters were able to contain the flames, preventing it from spreading to the century-old church.
“I would like to thank Fire Chief Moriarty and the rest of the fire department. The church is still standing because of their quick and diligent efforts to control the fire and keep it from spreading,” Vasquez said. “Houses of worship like the Corpus Christi Parish at Holy Rosary Church are pillars of our community. Many greater Lawrence area residents have been hit hard by this fire and my heart goes out them.”
The blaze left behind about $1.5 million worth of damage.
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