But weekend services cancelled due to heating problem

By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Despite the collapse of a ceiling in a basement meeting room, the Park Place Congregational Church at 71 Park Place has been deemed structurally sound. However, now, due to a problem with the heating system, the church has cancelled its 10 a.m. Sunday Service and all other activities scheduled for this week.

Morrissette, president of the congregation, announced the cancellations on Friday, after it was discovered that some wires that affect the building’s heating system had been damaged when a basement ceiling collapsed Tuesday night. “We have no heat whatsoever,” she said. “But, we have people working on it, so we expect activities to resume by the end of the week.”

Morrissette said that volunteers who normally operate the church’s soup kitchen on Saturdays from 4 to 5 p.m. will be handing out lunches Saturday to anyone who comes by.

On Tuesday at around 8:35 p.m., a 20 x 20-foot section of ceiling in a basement room gave way, injuring five people. According to church and fire department officials, nine individuals were in the room at the time for a meeting of a 12-step program for drug and alcohol recovery when plaster, metal, wires and other building materials suddenly showered down on them.

Most of the injuries were reported to be minor, with four people transported to Rhode Island Hospital for complaints of back and neck pain and one individual taken to the Memorial Hospital for treatment of a broken ankle and arm laceration. An update on their conditions was not available on Wednesday.

John W. Hanley, a Pawtucket building official, said Wednesday morning that the entire church building is structurally safe. He said that even the room where the collapse occurred is usable once the fallen debris has been cleaned up. “They can use that room. There is nothing left to come down in the way of debris,” he said. He added that a new ceiling will ultimately have to be installed in the room.

Hanley said there were two ceilings in the meeting room: an original one made of a wire lathe construction system of the type that was used before sheet rock became available, and a newer dropped ceiling that had been installed below it. “The original probably began sagging and no one noticed until it just came down,” said Hanley. “It was the ceiling above the dropped ceiling that gave way.”

According to Times archives, the current church building, a red brick structure with a white spire situated on the Park Place green was opened and dedicated in May 1936.

Cathy Morrissette, president of the congregation, said that to her knowledge, there was no indication that there was any structural problem with the ceiling prior to the incident. She said the ceiling had last been painted about 10 years ago, according to church records.

Morrissette said the church has been given permission by the building inspector to use two other rooms that are located off the room where the incident occurred for meetings and other activities. Groups typically use the meeting rooms on Monday and Tuesday nights. “Our plans are to go according to what’s been scheduled,” she said.