Easter fire at Cambridge church investigated as arson, FBI asks public for information

Authorities believe a fire that destroyed a Cambridge church on Easter was set intentionally, the FBI’s Boston office announced Tuesday.

The FBI said the six-alarm fire at Faith Lutheran Church began just before 5:30 p.m. on April 9, and that it took until 4 a.m. the next day to fully extinguish.

Officials are asking the public for help investigating the fire. The FBI said they are looking for photos and videos of the church from the day before the fire, the day of the fire, and of efforts to extinguish the fire.

“We are asking anyone with information on this fire, or who made observations in the area of the church that Sunday evening, to share it with investigators,” Cambridge Fire Chief Thomas Cahill told reporters, according to WHDH. “No piece of information is too small to share.” 

Anyone with relevant photos or videos or tips about the case is asked to submit them on the FBI’s website.

“We are keenly aware that any place of worship is a cornerstone of the community, and we want to reassure residents that we’re approaching this case with the seriousness and gravity that it deserves,” officials wrote in a joint statement, NBC 10 Boston reported.

The fire, which escalated to six alarms, took about 120 firefighters to extinguish. Smoke could be seen pouring out of the church’s steeple, but firefighters kept the fire from spreading to other buildings.

No one was inside the church when it caught fire, and no civilians were injured as a result of the fire. But much of the back of the church collapsed, and authorities determined that the steeple needed to be taken down for safety reasons.

Cambridge Police Chief Jeremy Warnick said Tuesday that authorities have not yet determined whether the church will be torn down.

The church, which was known for its soup kitchen and services in German, held an afternoon Easter service just a few hours before the fire started.

The church’s pastor, Rev. Robin Lutjohann, said previously that the church would continue on as a congregation despite their devastation at losing their meeting place, which was over 100 years old.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the church community recover.

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