#EU #Belgium – A fire broke out Thursday evening in the Sint-Amanduskerk in Meulebeke, a district of Tielt in West Flanders. The blaze, which began around 6:30 p.m. during roof work on the sacristy, was contained quickly after the parish priest discovered it in time. No injuries were reported.
Pastor Rudi De Smedt was inside the neo-Gothic church preparing for an information evening for parents of that year’s confirmands when he noticed the fire. He first smelled something unusual, then saw flames behind a stained-glass window in the sacristy area where work had been underway earlier in the day. He immediately called the fire department and, with help from the church treasurer, moved chairs out of the way.
“I was afraid the fire would spread from the sacristy into the church itself. The glass was already starting to crack,” De Smedt later said. Firefighters arrived promptly and brought the flames under control. A large plume of black smoke was visible as the fire burned through the sacristy roof. Crews cut an opening in the roof to extinguish the blaze thoroughly.
Damage remained largely limited to the sacristy, the loft above it, a section of the gutter on the main building, and nearby windows. Inside the church there was smoke damage, broken glass, and water damage; one carpet could not be saved. Church officials said the consequences appeared relatively limited thanks to the early discovery. Jean-Marie Boone, chairman of the local church fabric, noted that if the fire had started at night, the building might have been lost.
The planned information evening was canceled, and a funeral scheduled for Friday was moved to another church. Services at the Sint-Amanduskerk were suspended for the time being, with worship shifted to the nearby Sint-Antoniuskerk and other parishes. De Smedt estimated the church could be unusable for two weeks or longer. A cleaning firm was expected to remove glass shards and damaged carpets, after which temporary sealing of the broken window and full renewal of the sacristy roof would proceed.
The following day, the bishop called De Smedt to thank him for saving the church. “We were lucky,” the pastor said while assessing the damage. “Five minutes later and it would all have been gone.”
The Sint-Amanduskerk, largely rebuilt in neo-Gothic style between 1893 and 1896 on the site of much older churches, stands on the market square in Meulebeke. The exact cause of the fire remained under investigation but was presumed linked to the day’s roof work.
Cover Image: Sint-Amanduskerk on fire in Meulebeke, Belgium.
