'We will rebuild,' says pastor of burned church

State Fire Marshal arson investigator Linda Hacker talks on her cell phone Tuesday while investigating the fire at St. John's Lutheran Church in Sycamore. Chronicle photo DON VAUGHAN

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SYCAMORE - The pastor of a church destroyed by fire Monday night vowed, "We will rebuild," and said records from the congregation's 128-year history were spared from the flames. Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John were to meet Tuesday night at the Sycamore Center to decide where the congregation would make its temporary home and how to proceed with plans to build anew. The Rev. Donald Phelps said the congregation had received offers of space from just about every religious institution in the city. Phelps said that a file cabinet containing records of members' births, deaths, marriages and confirmations had survived the fire. Church officials were not available for comment this morning. Shortly after noon on Tuesday, flames continued eating away at what remained of the roof of the church at 327 S. Main St. Firefighters used hoses to dampen the roof while the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigated the building, looking for clues about how the fire started. The state fire marshal also was investigating the blaze. Sycamore firefighter Bob Maciejewski said firefighters had been on the scene all night and that many of his co-workers were working overtime; others were volunteering their time to help out, especially because their "brothers" were injured. Firefighter Brad Belanger suffered first- and second-degree burns on his hands and was treated and released from Kishwaukee Community Hospital, while firefighter Bill Reynolds had to be airlifted to St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford for surgery on a broken leg. The two were among a crew of firefighters caught Monday night in a backdraft similar to an explosion that threw the men across an alley and shot debris into the air. Reynolds was listed in fair condition this morning. Investigators with the state fire marshal's office, the ATF and the Sycamore Fire Department were meeting this morning at the Sycamore department's headquarters, and a secretary for the department said no new information was available yet about the cause of the fire. The department is asking that residents who may have photos or video of the early stages of the fire to share it with fire investigators to help in the probe. Renee Messacar can be reached at rmessacar@pulitzer.net. Chris Rickert can be reached at crickert@pulitzer.net.