Art being removed from fire-damaged former church in Tamaqua

July 18--TAMAQUA -- Works of art are being salvaged from a former church that was damaged by fire Saturday night, and a GoFundMe page has been set up to aid in the recovery.

Stephen Bennett, owner of the property at 224 W. Broad St. and artist, was away at the time of the fire. The structure has been condemned.

Stephen's sisters, Sarah and Judy Bennett, are in the area to help in the aftermath of the fire.

Sarah said her brother did not have insurance. She estimated upward of 500 paintings were in the building.

"Most of them are acrylic," she said.

She didn't want to guess how many of them were actually destroyed.

"I'm quite sure there are going to be some that are going to be lost," she said, adding at least 40 of his most recent works were in the direct line of the fire.

She was in the building Tuesday to look around.

"It's very, very sad," she said.

All is not lost though because Stephen had many pieces of the artwork professionally archived. He has been all over the world, his sister said.

"There is a portrait of the Dalai Lama," she said, adding her brother met him.

Her brother had no formal training.

"It was all just natural talent," she said.

He knows the fire took place.

"He's fine. He's just devastated," she said.

Family members started a GoFundMe page titled Save Stephen's Paintings and Studio. The page says he is traveling in Indonesia and needs funds to secure the building, "address the fire, smoke and water damage, travel back to the United States, and salvage any original paintings that have been his life's work. Please consider making a donation that will go toward saving Stephen's studio and salvage all of the canvases that weren't destroyed."

Sarah Bennett said she can't begin to thank the community for all that they have done for her brother.

"We really appreciate them supporting and caring for him," she said.

She is especially thankful to the firefighters who responded to the fire.

"They are heroes," she said.

Firefighters were called to an odor of smoke in the area on Saturday night and soon upgraded the status to a working structure fire. Crews had the fire under control by 3 a.m. Sunday.

Hartz could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

State police fire marshal Trooper Janssen Herb of the Reading station, who was on scene Sunday, said Tuesday he has not been able to speak with Stephen Bennett, who is the founder of the nonprofit Faces of The World Inc. Stephen Bennett left messages for Herb, but the two have not spoken yet.

"There are some investigative questions we would like to have answered," Herb said.

He does not have a cause of the fire yet.

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