About the October 2004 Fire

Late in the afternoon of Saturday, October 23, 2004, fire whistles could be heard blasting in the town of Bernardsville, New Jersey, and beyond. By shortly after 5 p.m. Claremont Road had been cordoned off by police and fire fighters. The focus of their attention was a blaze that had broken out in the sacristy of Saint Bernard’s Church. It quickly spread upward into the bell tower and roof, ripping through the organ casement as it went. A number of fire companies ultimately responded to the alarm. The blaze was brought under control in a few hours.

Many parishioners and townspeople realized the church had caught fire. A number gathered at the scene to witness the efforts of the firefighters. By late that night, after the building had been cleared, a few got a look at the inside of the church to witness the damage. Kneelers, prayer books and hymnals, artifacts and other moveable objects were already being removed from the building.

The great oculus window over the high altar had been blown out onto the front lawn by the pressure of the heat built up in the burning building. Firefighters had set up large spot lights inside and out, casting stark rays onto the dark stone and illuminating the charred roofing of the building. It was a scene of devastation.

An Arson Investigation Team, mandated by law, was brought in to interview witnesses and those who had been in the building earlier in the day. It was ultimately ruled an accidental fire, but without a specific explanation as to a cause. Faulty electrical wiring in the sacristy, the culprit of the 1957 fire, or combustion in the waste basket in the same room were both forwarded as plausible theories.

The day after the fire, Sunday, October 24, the congregation met for worship in the Great Hall of the Parish House. It became the worship venue of the parish and served as such until the completion of the restoration. A wedding, scheduled for that day, was held in the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, across the street. The leadership of Saint Bernard’s rallied the people to organize for a rebuild effort.

In the end, Saint Bernard’s Church would receive a $5.2 million insurance settlement for the loss incurred by the fire. Mr. Ed Williamson, the church’s independent insurance adjuster, was a strong and effective representative of the church’s claim. With additional costs for repairs to antiquated parts of the building, the total cost of the rebuild is expected to top out at approximately $6 million. Included in the loss was the church organ, a relatively new instrument that was completely destroyed. Its estimated replacement value is $700 – 800k.

Shortly before the fire, Saint Bernard’s Church had applied for and received an affirmative response to a Historic Site Management Grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust. The firm of Historic Building Architects of Trenton had shepherded the parish through this process. Now that the fire had made it all the more necessary to rely on the expertise of historic architects to lead the parish forward, the church chose to retain the services of HBA for the rebuild program.

In the last months of 2004 and on into the early ones of 2005, Annabelle Radcliffe-Trenner of HBA worked with parish leaders to plan the rebuild. In the late spring of 2005, The Reverend Frederick S. Baldwin, the Rector of Saint Bernard’s Church, resigned. While this delayed planning and implementation on the rebuild of the church, an Organ Committee had also convened to design a new organ. The summer of 2005 saw a resurgence of activity around the planning and decision-making relative to the rebuild effort.

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For information on the Rebuild Saint Bernard’s program and its progress, click on the prompt to the left.