Dyersburg Church got on fire

11/14/2017 (Permalink)

Southside Baptist Church in Dyersburg, TN, repaired by SERVPRO of Dyersburg/Union City after a fire.

“Bro. Loren, you have a problem; your church is on fire!” That’s how Pastor Loren Stephens got the news about his Southside Baptist Church burning in May 2017 in Dyersburg, TN. “There was a bad storm and lightning had hit the steeple and our bell. It just flamed up. Even though, it’s really old lumber still got tremendous hit”.

When Pastor Stephens got to the church the flames were 20 to 30 ft., higher than the steeple. The firefighters from Dyersburg Fire Department were already in place in a battle against the flames that took about three hours despite the rain.

After the trucks were gone, one of the members of the congregation put Pastor Lorens in contact with SERVPRO of Dyersburg/Union City. The mitigation process started right away. “Friday morning they were here working, preventing any further damage”, said Stephens. We have to remember that after a fire we will not only find smoke damage, but also extensive water damage from firefighting efforts.

“The fire did some damage, but it was putting up with the fire that did all the damage”, adds Pastor Lorens while recognizing the incredible job the firefighters did. “Hadn’t been for them, we would have lost the whole building”.

When SERVPRO of Dyersburg/Union City arrived, the pews were covered, but they were seating in several inches of water. Quickly, our team started elevating each of those units with small pieces of wood, so they could dry while the water extraction process was taking place. “We could have lost our pews if those wooden areas had seated in that water. It would have soaked it up and we would have lost at least the bottom part of the legs. But you can see these pews are in great shape”.

The key to mitigation is time. A fast response lessens the damage, limits further damage, and reduces cost. That why Pastor Lorens concluded: “They saved us a lot of money by their prompt reaction”. Besides the obvious advantage of lower costs, our “restore first” mentality also gets our clients quicker and with less disruption to their lives.

Our staff is highly trained in property damage restoration. And we have the right equipment to monitor the humidity, extract the water, dry contents and structures and prevent mold. “I don’t know if any other company is better equipped to handle a disaster or some kind of service interruption in a building, as SERVPRO does. Their people are well trained and they do a good job”.

It’s always good to hear those words from a client. Thank you, Pastor Lorens Stephens, for sharing your experience with future costumers.