Arson is to blame for a second church fire in Durham Region in as many weeks, this time on Christmas Day.
Just after 5:30 a.m. today, fire crews responded to an alarm at St. Philip The Apostle Catholic Church on Oxford St. in Oshawa.
While they were able to contain the blaze quickly, authorities say the building suffered “extensive” smoke damage.
Statues outside the church were also damaged.
According to police, the fire is suspicious in nature, and emergency crews found three broken windows, and believe someone got inside.
No one was injured in today's blaze, and the morning services at 9 and 11 a.m. were moved to the Holy Cross Catholic Church on Simcoe St.
The outside of the building looked undamaged today, but police tape cordoned off the property.
A woman leaving the church this evening said she couldn’t talk about what had happened, but confirmed she was boarding up the broken windows.
She said church officials would be on site tomorrow.
The Christmas fire at St. Phillips was the second time this month that a Durham church has been damaged by “suspicious” fires.
On Dec. 14, at 4:30 a.m., the 143-year-old All Saints Church in Whitby was badly damaged when fired ripped through the historic building’s roof, causing $3 million in damage.
Two of three people were seen in the All Saints Church area at the time of that fire, and an empty gas can was also found outside the building.
One of the 37 firefighters suffered “minor injuries” tackling the three-alarm inferno at All Saints Church, Whitby fire department spokesman Shawna Coulter said, adding help came from firefighters stationed in Oshawa and Ajax.
But despite the two “suspicious” church fires happening only weeks apart, police said today it is “still to early to determine if there is any connection between the two incidents.”
Anyone with information about the early morning blaze at St. Phillips Church is asked to call Durham Regional Police at 1-888-579-1520, ext. 2704.
Anonymous tips can be made to Durham Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
bryn.weese@sunmedia.ca
