Orange County firefighter rescued from burning church after roof collapses

Firefighters battled blaze at 10 N. Hiawassee Road

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – An Orange County firefighter was injured Tuesday when the roof of a burning church collapsed, according to officials.

Firefighters responded to the fire at The Center Arena church, located at 10 N. Hiawassee Road. The injured firefighter was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The church’s pastor, Rich Vera, told News 6 that the church building had been acquired about three years ago and about 400 people attend the church. He said the church was in the middle of remodeling and about $80,000 has been spent in expenses.

“This is a testing of our faith, you know that’s what the Bible talks about, the testing of our faith, and the Bible says when we are tested the end result is always a greater blessing. So out of this, something good is going to happen,” Vera said.

Vera said members of the congregation had been attending a Bible study session at the church when the fire started.

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Interior of the church after fire crews knocked down the fire (Orange County Fire Rescue)

“It was about maybe 40 people or so. Then, they said that the fire alarm went off,” Vera said. “They came out to see it, and there was smoke all over the place. They ran out — grabbed their purses and their phones and just ran out.”

Vera explained that he had been putting his children to bed when he got the call about the fire.

“I came rushing with my wife and kiddos and found what you see behind us,” Vera told News 6 at the scene of the fire.

News 6 witnessed members of the congregation singing outside the burning church.

While the building was heavily damaged in the fire, Vera said he sees it as a “testing of our faith.”

“God is faithful to his calling. Building is down, but we’re going to rebuild again,” he said. “Building is down, our hearts are up. There’s a fire here, we are on fire for God.”

Vera said he plans to hold church services Sunday in the parking lot.

He also told News 6 he would try to reach out to the hospitalized firefighter to see how he can help.

OCFR announced around 9:19 p.m. that the fire had been successfully knocked down. No other people were taken to the hospital due to the fire.

No other information has been released at this time, including the cause of the fire.

A GoFundMe was set up to assist with recovery. Click here if you’d like to donate.


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About the Authors

Jacob joined ClickOrlando.com in 2022. He spent 19 years at the Orlando Sentinel, mostly as a photojournalist and video journalist, before joining Spectrum News 13 as a web editor and digital journalist in 2021.

Anthony, a graduate of the University of Florida, joined ClickOrlando.com in April 2022.

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