Holy Smoke…Fire at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville

Holy smoke...and a lot of it.

Update: 01/09/2014 4:51pm WIBX spoke with Father John at the monastery who said that the blaze has been extinguished, although there are still emergency personnel on site.

He says that the fire apparently broke out in a small shed, and it was rather minimal.

Father John, who has been at the monastery for thirty-seven years, said that to his knowledge there has not been another fire like this at the monastery.  He indicated that they were still waiting for specific information about potential property damage.

Original Story:

Emergency crews are on the scene of a fire at the Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Monastery for men in Jordanville, New York.

Jordanville is in the Herkimer County Town of Warren, about 25 miles east, south-east of Utica.

At this point no injuries have been reported.  The fire took place in a building near the monastery's beehives, located about 1/3 of a mile from the monastery's main building.

WIBX spoke with a worker at the building who said that at this time he has not heard of any injuries or significant damage, but firefighters are still working to put out the blaze.

He said that the beehives are kept outside, even during the winter, and would potentially be protected from a fire inside a building, but he could not confirm any additional details.

Accounts vary but the church in Jordanville was founded between 1917 and 1928.  Construction on the historic monastery was completed in 1935.

The honey grown at the monastery is sold at the site's bookstore.