Fire destroys church

Update 11/20/2022

POCA, W.VA. (WSAZ)- Firefighters scrambled to save Harmons Creek Church of the Nazarene, but by the flames were contained, the church was lost.

Pastor David Patrick has been a part of the church for decades and to see a place that brought himself and the community so much breaks his heart.

“This is the only church in this area and it’s just become part of me to where you really can’t separate it so when something like this happens it hurts,” Patrick said.

Throughout the morning, members of the church stopped by to pay their respects including Daniel Taylor.

Living just down the road, he said he saw the flames firsthand.

“I was one of the first people that found that it was on fire and tried to get help,” he said. There was no help it was already on fire.”

An entire day later, smoke still rose from the remnants.

Patrick said looking at the remains could barley tell where he preached to the congregation.

“You can pretty much tell from all the areas that you can see and it is a total loss. There’s nothing salvageable,” Patrick said.

Both Patrick and Taylor are hopeful they can rebuild but that’s still far off.

We reached out to the Poca Volunteer Fire Department for more details about what happened but so far haven’t heard back.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Update 11/19/2022

POCA, W.Va. (WSAZ)- A fire destroyed a church.

Multiple departments battled flames at the Harmons Creek Nazarene Church in Putnam County.

The fire broke out around 4:30 p.m.

No injuries were reported.

The fire remains under investigation by the West Virginia State Fire Marshal.

Poca Volunteer Fire Department, the Nitro Fire Department, and other neighboring fire departments responded.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

POCA, W.Va. (WSAZ) -Firefighters are battling a fire at a church.

Dispatchers tell WSAZ.com the fire was reported just before 4:30 p.m. on Saturday in the 700 block of Harmons Creek Road.

No injuries were reported.

First responders expect Harmons Creek Road to be shut down indefinitely.

This is a developing story.

Keep checking the WSAZ app.

Copyright 2022 WSAZ. All rights reserved.