Pastor braves flames to save congregants

A RICHARDS Bay pastor braved searing flames when he ran back into his burning church to make sure everyone had escaped unharmed.

Calvin Patterson (25) narrowly escaped a fiery demise when a section of a wall inside the Christian Family Church on Dollar Drive collapsed minutes after the blaze engulfed the interior of the building the church shares with North Safety Equipment.

The collapsed wall cut him off from the front door, forcing him to kick down a roller door in the back of the building to escape.

Patterson told the Zululand Observer about the events that transpired in the minutes leading up the fire and the desperate evacuation of congregants.

‘I was sitting in my office at the church, rehearsing my sermon for the morning, completely unaware of what was happening,’ he said.

‘A church member then noticed smoke wafting over the partition wall and realised there must be a fire.

‘We rushed to get everyone out. I was worried that someone might have still been inside so ran back to check.’

Other church members, imagining the worst, also ran to another door leading to the outside of the building and kicked it down in an attempt to save Patterson, who had already escaped.

Millions in damage

Despite trying their best to remove some of the electronic equipment, the fire has destroyed expensive broadcasting equipment as well as other assets, easily worth nearly R1-million.

‘We were due to start broadcasting our sermons next week, and unfortunately all that equipment is now gone.’

The security company also suffered a very substantial loss of stock, worth millions.

Patterson’s father, Graham, said despite the serious loss, they were all excited about what the future would hold.

The cause of the blaze is still unknown and experts are combing through the ashes to determine the starting point.

See Gallery HERE 

WATCH video HERE