What A Day!

Today was stake conference. I have to admit I wasn't really sure that I wanted to go. Two hours on cramped uncomfortable benches didn't sound that fun and I figured I wouldn't miss too much. Besides, I could just get the highlights from my roommates that were going.

Then my conscience kicked in and I decided I really should go. Once I got there I was really happy that I decided to go. This conference was being broadcast from SLC and the speakers scheduled were Bruce D. Porter, Mary N. Cook, Robert D. Hales, and Henry B. Eyring. I was way excited for the talks by Elder Hales and Elder Eyring; unfortunately, I would end up not hearing their talks.

About 5 minutes into Sister Cook's talk the fire alarm goes off in the church. We all just sit there and I begin to wonder who pulled the prank of setting off the fire alarm. We all remain in the chapel for about a minute when the bishop stood up and decided to exit the church. Of course, the minute we see him stand up we all follow. We get up and walk outside, totally casually. Some people left their coats, scriptures, and other stuff on the benches because there is no way there is a real fire.

We get outside and we can see smoke coming off the roof and a small fire starting among the rain gutter area. But it was super small and I figured the fire department would come and it would be easily taken care of. I had no idea the seriousness of the situation.

There is a large horseshoe driveway and yard area that all of us members moved to. As people are still exiting the church we suddenly see large flames on the roof. By this time, we know this is a big deal. It was a HUGE deal. Within twenty minutes our church was engulfed in flames. It was really quite indescribable.

Here a few pics of the different stages of the fire: (keep in mind this all happened in about 20 minutes.)









Now I know these pictures don't do it enough justice so here is some other facts about the fire to help illustrate the severity of this fire. Fire departments from the surrounding communities of Belmont, Somerville, Waltham, and Watertown provided assistance. The fire was fought with 22 engines, seven ladder companies, and about 80 firefighters. It was pure craziness to see all of this. I don't even know how they could get 22 fire engines into that area.

Thankfully, no one was injured, and everyone was able to exit out of the building safely.

Here are some pics after the fire:

This is what remains of the chapel. Notice there is no roof.

This is the gym.

I think this is a really cool picture. This is of the stained glass window that was at the front of the chapel. Obviously, the glass broke and you can see the steeple through the frame of the window. This picture just shows me how crazy this situation really was.

All in all, an experience I won't soon forget.