The Latest Scoop on First Baptist Church of Montgomery | SERVPRO® of Montgomery

5/27/2022 (Permalink)

“SERVPRO® of Montgomery and First Baptist Church have become one team working together to restore our local Historic church.”

We are aware that everyone in the community has been keeping a close eye on the status of the devastating fire that occurred late last September. SERVPRO® of Montgomery and First Baptist Church of Montgomery have worked side-by-side to restore the Historical Church to its original state. Now we are here to give you the most recent updates! Let’s start from the beginning and review the events bringing us to today. 

The suspect started the fire in the Main Sanctuary, pouring gasoline from the back doors to the pulpit. Before exiting the church, she stopped at the reception desk, soaking it in gasoline and lighting the match! Flames engulfed the Church, and the Fire Department was notified of the emergency. Thankfully the carpet was flame retardant, so the fire did not spread the way she intended. Regardless, the damage was already done. The fire damage spread throughout the six-story building, traveling through walkways and air ducts. Soot covered every organ pipe, speaker, microphone, baseboard, window, and ceiling tile. Because the church is such a massive building, you can imagine the work we had cut out for us. 

One of the perks of being the #1 Restoration Company is our footprint and resources. First Baptist Church called us to assist, and we reached out to our SERVPRO® family across the Southeast. Within 24 hours, we were all hands-on deck! We immediately jumped into action, bringing in two trailers and over one hundred and fifty crew members ready to make it “Like it never even happened.”  

We went to work immediately, wiping, scrubbing, painting, washing, and restoring everything in our path. SERVPRO® uses specialized cleaning products to remove soot and grime from materials. These cleaning products allow us to restore instead of replace items, especially when artifacts are not easily replaceable. We can proudly say that we have been able to restore more than half of the damage that occurred in the Church.  

All walls have a fresh coat of paint. All baseboards have been cleaned, painted, repaired, and reinstalled. The carpet has arrived and is now laid within the two Sanctuaries. Paintings have been appropriately cleaned and are hanging back in place. Every handrail, doorknob, and light switch are free from soot. 

The pulpit is back in its original place. Organ pipes visible to the congregation are clean, and we are working on the pipes behind the wall. 

The Sanctuaries have fifty-foot ceilings with ceiling tiles made in the early 1900s. Some of these tiles could not be restored, so we arranged to have ceiling tiles custom-made to match the rest of the building. We also brought in scaffolding to access the high ceilings. After several weeks, the crew successfully put all the ceiling tiles in place, and they look brand new!  

We are still waiting for the arrival of new pews but expect it will not be much longer. It is a process to have every item fully restored, but things are moving quickly!  

SERVPRO® of Montgomery is dedicated to restoring the Church to its original state. While there is still work to complete, we are finally in the home stretch! The First Baptist Church Montgomery family has been so patient during the restoration process, and we are now part of that family. Months of working side by side with one another have created a close relationship. We have even given each other nicknames! While we will rejoice when the building is fully restored, we will also be sad when it is over because we will miss the second home we have been in every day for nearly a year. Stay tuned for more updates on how the restoration process is going! 

It is not just about the restoration process for SERVPRO®. We truly invest our time and efforts into serving our community. We understand how devastating disasters can be, and we are Here to help® you. Contact us today at 334.284.1612 for all your restoration needs!