Petrolia's First Baptist Church April 26, 2017 (Photo by Melanie Irwin)Petrolia's First Baptist Church April 26, 2017 (Photo by Melanie Irwin)
Sarnia

Repairs Continue At Petrolia's First Baptist Church

Repairs are underway at Petrolia's First Baptist Church after a lightning bolt blew the historic structure's chimney apart April 20.

A pile of bricks is stacked beside the church. A pile of bricks is stacked beside the church.

Building Manager Ernie Rankin says it's going to take some time before the Greenfield St. church is back to normal.

"The chimney has been removed to the roof line, the repairs are in motion, we haven't done the roof yet because we have to do some of the stuff on the inside first," says Rankin.

Rankin says discussions continue as to whether the chimney will be put back on the building.

"There's a possibility the chimney may not go up, I can't give you an accurate on that," he says. "The contractor has agreed to do the driveway, it was damaged when removing the chimney, so with that said they're going to fix the driveway and hopefully we're back in business a week from this Sunday."

An exact damage estimate is not known yet but Rankin says it's expected to be in the thousands of dollars.

Sunday morning service will be held again at Victoria Playhouse.

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