Cross survived LV church fire

Karen Zekan

Tuesday, June 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

A large wooden cross still hangs on the front wall of Bevan Hall, today a fragile stucco shell after a $1 million fire wiped out the community center at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church.

The cross has no monetary value, fashioned years ago of simple wood and ties by a church maintenance man, but the fact that the handmade symbol survived Sunday's raging eight-hour blaze touched Father Dave Casaleggio.

"I'm hoping we can get the cross down," he said. "It is the only thing we have of the old that we will be able to bring to the new."

Before church officials can even begin to explore the options for a new community center, they must tear down the old one, and that can't happen until investigators have determined what caused the three-alarm fire.

The Las Vegas Fire Department was forced to delay its investigation until later this week after the building department on Monday condemned the charred skeleton of Bevan Hall.

"There are some structural cross members in the attic that need to be removed before anyone can go inside," said Bill Young, deputy chief fire marshal. "Once they have been removed, and the building has been braced, the investigators can safely go inside and begin the investigation."

Since 1988, Bevan Hall had served as the church's dining commons, meeting facility and gymnasium for the students attending its elementary school for preschool through eighth grade.

For almost three decades before that, the building was the original Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church.

More than 60 people called the church office Monday, offering their concern, services and donations to help rebuild Bevan Hall, named for Father James Bevan who served as pastor until 1989.

"The response has just been beautiful," said Casaleggio, the current pastor. "One (Protestant) church even offered their meeting rooms to us so that our programs could continue."

A variety of support groups and organizations had used Bevan Hall in addition to church activities.

Summer school for children at Our Lady of Las Vegas will begin on time next week, Casaleggio said. Although only a few feet away from Bevan Hall, the church's school buildings had only minimal smoke and water damage from the fire.

Firefighters salvaged from the school's roof on Sunday the church's water-soaked American flag, which two crew members delivered to Casaleggio.