The company is currently working on obtaining a permit to start renovating the building.
COSHOCTON, Ohio – Coshocton’s favorite church, which received severe injuries from a fire last week could have been saved.
After the flames engulfed the united Methodist Church of Grace, located at 422 Walnut Street, on Friday, investigators initially believed it had been destroyed and could not be rebuilt.
The Coshocton Fire Department and several neighboring departments were working to contain the blaze, and no one was hurt. At the time, Coshocton Safety Services manager Max Crown said there was no real structural damage, but the church would still need to be demolished.
In an update Monday, Coshocton Fire Chief Russell Dreyer said engineering company Bail Fish Services surveyed the site and determined the walls could be saved.
The company is currently working on obtaining a permit to start renovating the building. Once construction begins, Dreyer said roads around the church will be closed, including st.
The United Methodist Church of Grace, which has long been considered a major part of the community, has been operating in Kashoktan for more than 100 years.
“I was baptized here, I got married here. This building keeps a lot of memories, but what I feel is most important … the building can be replaced, and human life cannot,” said Coshoctan Mayor Mark Mills.
The church has been a part of the life of 90-year-old Max Olinger for as long as he can remember.
“I grew up with that, I went to Sunday school for years,” Olinger said.
The cause of the fire is still being determined, but Dreyer said crews are investigating the possibility that the fire caused a lightning strike.
https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/rebuilding-plans-underway-beloved-coshocton-church-heavily-damaged-by-fire/530-bddebb70-53b5-498c-b970-bf4734776977
