Police determined that a fire set to an organ in the St Franziskus Church in Gummersbach was intentional. The damage done to the organ was estimated to be in the six-figure range. Due to the rapid intervention of the fire department, greater damage was prevented. "Perhaps the whole church could have gone up in flames if the fire had not been discovered so quickly," noted Father Christoph Bersch.
The organ was completely cleaned and restored only a few weeks ago. With its almost 100 years old pipes, it is a valued cultural asset. Organ builder Ralf Müller from the company Speith led the renovation work. He was included in the police investigation and was stunned when he saw the extent of the damage. "Thirty percent of the almost 2000 organ pipes are destroyed and many more are in need of renovation," he said, adding, "the damage could be immensely greater if the fire had not been detected in a short time. The flames of the wooden paneling of the organ would have gone up under the church roof. Anyone can imagine what that means. So there was blessing in disguise."
Until the investigations are completed, the church will be closed, and will be cleaned.
Sources: Presseportal, Rheinische Anzeigenblätter, and Rundschau Online