#USA #NewYork – On Thursday, April 23rd, 2026, at around 18:45 EST, a fire broke out in the evening at the First Reformed Church of Astoria in New York. The fire started in a residential structure attached to or adjacent to the church on 12th Street (near Astoria Boulevard and 27th Avenue) and rapidly spread to the church building itself.
FDNY responded with a multi-alarm effort, involving dozens of units, aerial ladders, and heavy smoke/ flames visible on the roof and steeple against the NYC skyline. Videos circulating online show intense flames and thick black smoke billowing from the historic church.
No fatalities or serious injuries to civilians have been widely reported so far, though firefighters worked in challenging conditions. The church, established in 1839, has a long history in the neighborhood and previously survived other incidents (e.g., a major fire in 1943 that gutted parts of it).
The fire comes shortly after ISIS propaganda (in its al-Naba newsletter around early April 2026) explicitly called for supporters to “set fire” to churches in the US, Europe, and elsewhere, framed around grievances over the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and timed near Easter.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. In the last decade, church fires have become more common due to anti-Christian fervour across the world. Recent church fires have been documented in Canada, specifically Quebec where state secularism has become increasingly enforced, and in Ireland.
Image: The First Reformed Church of Astoria on fire.
