*** WATCH *** SUSPICIOUS NATIVITY SCENE FIRE: Firefighters report saving little town of Bethlehem!
SOUTH YARMOUTH – Firefighters quickly extinguished a section of a church Nativity scene that appeared to have been intentionally set on fire last evening.
At around 11:00 p.m., Yarmouth Firefighters responded to the United Methodist Church at 318 Old Main Street to find a smoking Nativity scene after the flames had just reportedly died down, according to a dispatcher’s conversation with a witness/caller.
The fire appears to have started in some hay, according to Captain Thomas Lundquist of the Yarmouth Fire Department. It appeared suspicious, especially because this particular manger scene in front of the quiet neighborhood church did not have anything that used electricity. In a brief phone conversation, Captain Lundquist could not find any other explanation for the fire, other than it being intentionally set. The Captain told HN that he would be notifying the Yarmouth Police Department about the fire.
As you will hear in the following HN Video, firefighters were happy to report that they had just “saved the little town of Bethlehem.” In fact, there was no apparent damage to the Christian figures representing the Nativity of Jesus, including the infant Jesus, his mother, Mary, and her husband, Joseph. Other Nativity figures, including two sheep, also remained unsinged…
… and it could be considered a miracle there wasn’t more damage to the church’s very innocent and quietly innocuous Christmas display!
(Thank God.)
[HN VIDEO – PRESS PLAY]
[UPDATE – YPD MEDIA STATEMENT]
“Fire Investigation at Church in South Yarmouth”
Incident Synopsis:
On 12/23/20 at approximately 11:00 pm the Yarmouth Fire Department received a 911 call regarding a fire at the United Methodist Church on Old Main Street in South Yarmouth. The caller reported that the nativity scene was on fire.
Members of the Yarmouth Fire Department arrived on scene and discovered that the fire was out but some materials were still smoldering. The nativity scene was doused with water and the scene was declared safe. An initial investigation did not lead to a direct cause of the fire and the incident is classified as suspicious at this time.
The incident is under investigation by the Yarmouth Fire Department and the Yarmouth Police Department. A canvass of the area was conducted and video from surrounding businesses will be viewed for possible leads. Anyone with information about this incident is urged to call the Yarmouth Police Department at 508-775-0445 ex 2100.
