St. Paul’s Church, considered to be the first church in Woodside, N.Y., was heavily damaged by a two-alarm fire Dec. 26. No one was injured in the blaze, which destroyed the building’s eight stained glass windows.
 
Two walls of the wood-frame, “carpenter Gothic” structure, built in 1874, were reported to be badly scorched by the fire, according to the New York Daily News. Fire officials believe the blaze started in the space between the building’s rafters and roof. It did not appear to be of suspicious origin.
 
“We were so shocked and horrified,” the Rev. Anandsekar Manuel, the parish’s priest-in-charge, told the Daily News. “It could have been worse. Thank God there are no human casualties, so that is a consolation.”
 
Fr. Manuel said he hoped that the day care center housed in the building would be ready to open Jan. 2. Bangladeshi, Filipino, Indian, Korean, and Romanian groups also use the building for worship.
 
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