Fire at former Bohemia church probed

A midday fire Tuesday ravaged the interior of a 127-year-old former church that decades ago was the center of Catholic life in Bohemia.

The Little Church, which had housed a youth center, had served as St. John Nepomucene Roman Catholic Church on Locust Avenue from its construction in 1885 until the cornerstone of the new church just to the north was laid in 1981, the pastor, the Rev. Joseph Schlafer, said.

"It's heartbreaking. That was the first feeling I had when I came out and saw the flames," the pastor said as he stood in the parking lot behind the scarred building.

"It's a beloved church, a tremendous history. The first Catholics who came to Bohemia established this parish, built this church. It's a real tremendous sadness that it should be so damaged," Schlafer said.

The fire was reported in the unoccupied building about 12:20 p.m. and was brought under control an hour later, according to Mike Stankunis, an assistant chief with the Bohemia Fire Department and a longtime member of the parish.

"It's always been a monumental building in our town. Everybody is fascinated by it," Stankunis said. "I've been here 25 years and in that time it's never been used as a church. . . . Both my daughters were baptized, and got confirmation here in the main church, and we used to come over here and take their pictures right in front of the Little Church."

Schlafer praised the fast work of the firefighters from several departments. "The fire was really raging and they got here fast enough to put it out, and I think, from what I can observe, that saved the building," the priest said.

Stankunis said Bohemia got assistance from fire departments from Sayville, West Sayville, Holbrook, East Islip, Lakeland and Ronkonkoma.

The cause of the fire was under investigation by fire marshals, who were sorting through the interior Tuesday afternoon, occasionally tossing items out through holes once filled by stained glass windows.

There was no damage to the other buildings in the church complex, which includes a school, a convent and a priests' residence.

"Our main church is fine, so one blessing is that this is not going to affect services for Holy Week," Schlafer said.

Still, the pastor added of the Little Church, "This building is loved by a lot of generations of people. There was a burial here in the cemetery a few weeks ago and the man who had died was married here 70 years ago."