Chapel Fire on 10/8/07

As of 11:00 am. we haven't been allowed into the building yet, and the fire marshall will be doing an investigation. Cause unknown at this point. From what we can tell, everything is gone. But there are many many things we can be thankful for right now:

• It happened in the fall
• It happened on a Monday morning when no guests were on camp
• No one was hurt.

We anticipate God turning something tragic into blessings we cannot see right now. While this could put some projects on hold, we believe God will use this to shape the camp's facilities in better ways than we could have done. And we're sure it will bring the Spofford community together in ways not experienced before.

We won't be allowed in the building for a few days at least. We are NOT connecting the two, but please note that there was extensive vandalism throughout the camp last night in a number of our buildings. Someone went systematically through and sprayed various rooms with the fire extinguishers, among other little things. The police are doing a full investigation, and will not draw any conclusions until that is complete.

Other things that we are so thankful to God for:

• It was a very wet night and morning, the first rain we've had in over a month! Prior to last night, it has been incredibly dry.
• There was no wind.
• A great fire rescue team and police force, as well as the American Red Cross, who responded quickly and professionally to the emergency. We had the fire departments (many of them volunteer) from Spofford, Chesterfield, West Chesterfield, Westmoreland, Keene, Meadowood County, Swanzey and Brattleboro respond to our need. They continue to do everything they can to assist us.
• The many prayers and encouragements from our Camp Spofford family, that began before the smoke cleared and continue now!

The claims adjuster has gone through this afternoon for an initial look, and we'll let you know more as things happen.

We continue on in the process of assessing the damage. We were, in fact, able to poke our heads in the front door late in the afternoon yesterday. After walking up those steps to the chapel so many times, it was shocking to expect a certain sight and be met by such charred remains of chairs, instruments, books, and puddles of plastic. Broken glass littered the floor from every window, and jet black soot or charcoal completely covered all that we could see, from the wooden peak to the wooden floors. The heat was so intense from the back of the building that the sheetrock paper began to peel off on the wall behind the stage.

As things stand by mid-day today, the fire department has told us that the building is structurally sound, although everything within it is a loss. If they were even ten minutes later, they said the building would have been razed to the ground. We are trying to determine, just like with a car accident, if it is better to fix what is broken or to start from scratch. Our goal is to not just make do, but to bring back something as nice as we had. Thus far, it has felt like a revolving door of claims adjusters and others from the insurance company as they work on making that decision. Until all of the data is collected from inspectors and adjusters, the Board of Directors cannot make plans for our chapel.

Many people have asked how they can help. At this point it is mostly wait and see and we will continue to post updates on this website. Although we need to do some immediate professional cleanup from the vandalism in the other 5 buildings damaged, we have had to put most all of our normal operations on hold. As we head into the winter season and continue to minister to groups on the weekends, this does put us at a vulnerability, and we will need help over the upcoming weeks and month. If you would like to help, please revisit this website as we get more information.

Interior pictures are now available (below) showing damage that was assessed by the adjusters.

On Wednesday the investigators from the insurance company examined the spot in the chapel where they think the fire originated from. Rookie said it was fascinating to watch them work as they drew conclusions, tracing the steps of the fire. We have begun formulating theories as to what happened. Unfortunately at this point, our ability to comment on the investigation is limited as we piece this case together. Further tests are pending as more investigators are called in.

We are also beginning cleanup today on the five buildings that were vandalized, primarily with our fire extinguishers. Over the next three days, a team of approximately 10 professional cleaners are going through each building that was sprayed. The buildings vandalized include Knute’s, Cabin D-10, Upper Boys, the Gymnasium and lobby, as well as the Cheshire conference room, though this facility was not sprayed with fire retardant.

Some people have asked about our insurance. Part of our stewardship of this camp has been to purchase quality insurance coverage that will protect us from heavy losses in times such as these. However, as with most affordable policies, there are deductibles which we must pay for, and the insurance company has notified us that they will factor in depreciation costs. These costs will exceed our normal operating budget; if you feel called to support us financially in this crisis, it would be of great help.

Yesterday afternoon was spent creating an inventory of all that we could see and recall from the chapel, and then going through the open food items that were contaminated in Knute's. The smell inside the chapel was powerful, and we welcomed the fresh breezes when they came along. The insurance company instructed us to record EVERYTHING, from the dust pans and curtains to the track lighting and batteries for the mics. We are grateful for the financial support already coming in. What will the funds be going towards? We will need new flags with flag poles, new hymnals, new replacements for the music department's sheet music and CD's, etc. Depreciation costs will be most heavily factored into things like the LCD projector, speakers, microphones, new replacements for computers, and the other sound/visual equipment.

The gym cleaning is complete, and it looks like new! Our Cheshire conference room is back to normal and ready for retreat guests! Cleaning is well underway in the other buildings, and we are very excited about the results.

The fire inspectors and others from the insurance company will come through today. Please pray for them to have insight and wisdom as they work on making further assessments and conclusions.

We want to express our thanks for the local Spofford community who helped us to get ready for this weekend, as well as some brothers and sisters from further away. We even completed some of our winter shut-down operations that had been put on hold. We also want to express our thanks for the many words of support and assurances of prayer for this camp, its operations, and the staff here. Please continue to pray for the Board of Directors, who must prepare for some major and unexpected decisions in the near future.

Our inventory of everything in the Chapel is nearing completion. The insurance company has given us the job of pricing out everything as new, from which they will deduct depreciation costs. It has been a huge task that we've split up between all of us here in the Office. Other items on the list include our Communion table, hardwood lectern, curtains, over 190 plush folding chairs, and eleven banquet tables used during the retreat that weekend.

The “holding pattern” continues as engineers sent from the insurance company continue to discuss the value of the building and whether it is more cost effective to rebuild or renovate. They have given us no timeline as to when they will provide bottom-line numbers, so we wait and pray for God's wisdom as we seek to lay plans for the future.

We are awaiting the adjustor's decision from our Insurance company as to their assessment of damages. Pray that we find favor in their eyes in this situation. The Board of Directors convene on November 10. Pray for wisdom and direction as they process the information and move the rebuilding process forward. They will need to determine what type of building, where to locate and maybe what to include in the complex or have it stand alone. The BOD's Building Committee was already engaged in determining what to include in the Dinning Hall Project when the Chapel was destroyed. God has certainly caught their attention and now they need to discern this new direction.

Your support in letters, emails, phone calls, prayers and financial gifts has been most encouraging during these recovery days.

Negotiations with the insurance company are ongoing. Based on the current condition of the structure alone, we are leaning towards tearing it down. The insurance company currently thinks the structure is sound enough to renovate. WHAT we rebuild (and if we can) depends upon what we can afford (money from the insurance company, plus donations from the Camp Spofford family), as well as what the Board of Directors decides will best fit the needs of the camp. The Board has not determined this yet.

There are those that recall the winter of 1969 when our Chapel roof collapsed and the faithful men of Spofford had it rebuilt before the seasonal surge of summer. Times are different now and we contend with town ordinances and building codes that we must comply with to our benefit. With that in mind, the summer of 2008 will have a unique feel compared to recent summer seasons as we submit to the sovereignty of the Savior without a chapel building to corporately worship in. It looks like we'll be having good old fashioned tent meetings!

The location of the new chapel, if we can rebuild, depends upon funding and the decisions that the Board makes regarding the best way to fill the long-term needs of the camp. This means that all options are still on the table. This has been an educational process for us. We are negotiating with the insurance company about the final amout they will pay out. Our policy is an actual cash value, minus depreciation costs. It is NOT a replacement value insurance policy.

Had circumstances been different, we would have been focusing on plans for our new dining hall today. But the Lord, in His sovreignty, shifted our focus to the chapel. We feel that as much as we desire (and need) to update Camp's dining facilities sooner than later, we need to currently address the fact that we have no chapel building.

Many of you have asked, "How can I help?" We are very blessed by the outpouring of financial support from the Camp Spofford family for the chapel project. At this point in time, our energies are focused on logistics and planning. We covet your prayers for wisdom as well as your financial support. While it is compelling for many to specifically support the chapel project, we ask our faithful supporters to continue to be mindful of the regular operating expenses that rely on your ongoing participation.

Rookie and Dave have met with a contractor to review the insurance company's claim that we can renovate the chapel. The meeting was very productive in that it helped them put into clear and concise words what the insurance company "overlooked" in the initial estimate that we received last week. The claims adjusters also asked Becky to redo the entire inventory within the chapel, as they gave no initial instruction and it was not done as they wanted the first time. While this has been an incredibly time consuming task, the blessings are that we have a more accurate view of what was lost (some items were missing) and that we know more accurately the true market values of those items (many things on the inventory were undervalued).

The Building Committee met on Long Island this past weekend with an architectural firm. They spent an entire day discussing everyone's visions for the outlay of the camp, given our anticipated needs. We know that the Camp Spofford family has been praying long and hard regarding the impending decisions that the Board of Directors must make, and are very thankful for the unity and consensus that came out of this meeting. The Building Committee looks forward to presenting their opinions to the Board of Directors on February 8th.

The Chapel building is still standing, and Lord willing, we will begin tearing it down once things are settled with the insurance company. Dave, Doug, and Bobby made a project of boarding up all of the windows and holes from the flames, and now it's done! It does make it a bit less ugly of a site as one drives down 9A.