Saturday, November 9, 2024
Dear Westminster Community,
On Friday evening, a part in an electrical breaker box located in our church’s electrical room in the building’s basement began to fail and smoke. Our staff who were on site at the time responded quickly by identifying where the problem was, evacuating the building, and engaging emergency services. Our gratitude goes to the quick work of the USC Fire Department (USCFD) for containing what could have erupted into a fire. No fire happened and the USCFD was able to use dry chemical extinguishers to extinguish the smoke. Thanks be to God no one was hurt.
Currently, all electrical power and gas services to the building have been shut off as a safety precaution per emergency service protocol dictated by the USCFD. Members of the Property Commission and custodial staff are working with our electrical contractor to assess the damage. This afternoon they are on site working to provide a temporary fix to restore the electrical power. This work may be able to be inspected independently so the USCFD/Fire Marshall can approve the restoration of power to the church by West Penn Power. The custodial staff will not be able to fully assess and clean the building’s affected areas until the power has been restored. After the power is restored and the building has been cleaned, we will have a better understanding of when the building will reopen for business.
The failure of this part in the breaker box was not related to the new electrical panel to be replaced by the Let There Be Light project but is a symptom of our risk of relying upon aged equipment to support our vibrant ministry.
Anticipating a complete building shutdown, we received an immediate and gracious welcome to worship at Temple Emanuel of the South Hills tomorrow, Sunday, November 10. Truly, our neighbors’ care for us is a balm to our spirits.
We will hold ONE worship service at 10:00 a.m. with children welcome in worship and Sunday School. We hope to livestream worship through this link on our YouTube channel.
Temple Emanuel is located at 1250 Bower Hill Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15243.
Entrance to the building is through the parking lot rather than along Bower Hill Rd. Please enter through the parking lot even if you opt to park in the surrounding neighborhood.
Please visit our church website and social media for updates on when our building will reopen. We will advise you of program updates as soon as we have updates on the situation.
In faith,
Jo Forrest