Fire engulfs historic wooden Brooklyn church, collapses steeple 21%
By Roni Jacobson63%
6/19/2026, 1:23:34 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 13 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Emotion, Appeal to Authority, and Framing Effect, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 25.7% saturation with 86 hits. Analysis detected 522 faulty-reasoning hits from 335 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 34.9% and a BS Rank of 21% (17,409 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 79.50% of the article peer group.
A massive blaze engulfed a nearly 200-year-old church in Brooklyn on Friday, causing the steeple to collapse and injuring a firefighter, FDNY officials said.
The fire broke out around 1:20 p.m. at South Bushwick Reformed Church on Bushwick Ave. near Himrod St. and quickly escalated to three alarms, a FDNY spokesperson said.
Videos and photos on social media showed flames and clouds of dark smoke billowing from the steeple, which collapsed around 20 minutes later, according to a witness who posted on X.
Firefighters brought the flames under control by 3:35 p.m., the FDNY spokesperson said.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.
A total of 192 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to the blaze.
The fire’s cause is currently being investigated.
The church was built in 1853, but the congregation dates back to the Dutch colonial period in the 1600s, according to the National Fund for Sacred Places.
It’s one of only eight surviving wooden houses of worship in New York City that are officially landmarked by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The fire extensively damaged the historic church, which had been recently renovated, to the point where it will have to be demolished, officials told ABC News.
That the fire destroyed the church on Juneteenth, celebrating the end of slavery in the United States, was especially devastating, said New York Attorney General Letitia James.
James said the church will receive grants and support from the government to rebuild.
“On this day, as we think about freedom, this historic church has fallen,” James said.
“But, as we know in our faith, church is more than a structure.
Church is within.
And that’s why this church will rebuild.”
James Stewart, the congregation’s pastor, was heartbroken at the loss of the historic building but echoed James’ sentiment.
“It’s a devastating loss emotionally, but we know that the church is more than just a building, it’s people,” Stewart said.
“We will get through this together.”
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