Just in time for Christmas, the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew, a main staging ground for Occupy Sandy, suffered a two-alarm fire that may have been set deliberately. Fortunately, the building and the volunteers keeping a watch on the supplies for hurricane victims were unharmed and the church will be holding Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services. The New York City Fire Department was investigating a possible arson because the fire appears to have been started with the use of two gas cans onsite that were being stored for use in power generators in the Rockaways.
The church’s pastor, Rev. Christopher Ballard, told the Wall Street Journal he had compassion for whoever it was that started the fire, and Occupy Sandy put out their own statement offering their support to the church and hoping for a thorough FDNY investigation.