Just two days after a large fire at the historic Second Samoan Congregational Church sent large plumes of smoke into the air over Downtown Long Beach, its leaders and volunteers gathered outside for their bi-weekly food distribution event.
Yellow caution tape blocked the church’s front entrance even as people in need lined up the receive help. Despite the outreach continuing, worship services have been canceled indefinitely as church leadership figures out what to do after flames charred the inside of the building that has stood for nearly 100 years at Seventh Street and Cedar Avenue.
“I’ve been here for 30 years and I’ve seen everything, but this fire is unique,” Pastor Misi Tagaloa said. “It’s the first time we’ve had a fire in this building, so you can imagine we were shocked.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Tagaloa suspects it was an electrical issue. Fire investigators don’t believe the blaze was intentionally set, Long Beach Fire Department Capt. Jack Crabtree said.
Photos from inside the church show extensive damage in the sanctuary, with charred pews and a blackened ceiling. Tagaloa estimates the fire caused more than $4 million in damage.
Tagaloa said that when he heard about the blaze, which broke out just after 6 p.m. Sunday, he immediately called 911.
More than a dozen Long Beach Fire Department units rushed to the church, where they were met by heavy smoke coming from the structure and flames burning in multiple areas of the building, fire officials said.
By the time fire crews doused the flames, the building had sustained “substantial damage,” Tagaloa said. He’s been numb ever since, he added.
The church, which houses the Second Samoan Congregational Church and the Mision Catolica Del Divine Nazarenowas, was built in 1924. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.