November 13, 2019 // Diocese

St. Patrick, Arcola, rectory destroyed by fire

FORT WAYNE – Father Tad Balinda, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Arcola, near Fort Wayne, was not harmed in a fire that broke out late Monday, Nov. 11, in the rectory.

A resident of a neighboring property noticed smoke coming from the rectory shortly after 10 p.m. and alerted Father Balinda, who was in the home at the time. Firefighters responded and had the fire under control by 11:50 p.m., around the same time that the roof of the building collapsed. They had difficulty fighting the fire due to the subzero conditions.

The fire reignited Tuesday around 5 a.m., but was put out quickly. The cause is under investigation.

The rectory was built in 2006- 07, under then-pastor Father Cyril Fernandes, as part of an expansion that included a parish hall. The original rectory had been constructed in 1868, the same year as the church itself.

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