The scene was chaotic this evening in the Park Santiago neighborhood of Santa Ana, as perhaps a dozen fire trucks and police cars responded to a huge fire at the home of John Sherman, an Associate Pastor at Calvary Church in Santa Ana.
The home is located right by my own house, just east of Spurgeon, on Santa Clara, adjacent to the 5 Freeway. I am told that the fire may have started in the fireplace, after 5:30 p.m.
Firefighters mounted the roof of the house as they tried to control the huge blaze. The Sherman family had a lot of antique furniture stored in their attic. It may be that the furniture provided additional fuel to the fire, which raged for over an hour and a half.
(Picture Courtesy of the O.C. Register)
The firemen are putting away their equipment right now as they finally got the fire under control. A truck is refilling self contained breathing apparatus bottles in front of my house. Nearby a hazmat transport truck awaits potential cargo.
Neighbors from all over the neighborhood came to offer their condolences to the Sherman family. I also observed many of their parishioners coming to do the same.
The Sherman home sustained a lot of damage. It is a shame as the home is a historic Victorian house.
Calvary Chapel Associate Pastor John Sherman
Sherman’s web page on the Calvary Church website offers his favorite Bible verse, from Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” That verse is most appropriate as the Sherman family will now have to place all their trust in God as they go about finding temporary housing and cleaning up and rebuilding their cherished abode.
Our condolences to the Sherman family in this, their time of need.
UPDATE:
(Picture Courtesy of the O.C. Register)
Pastor Sherman’s friends and parishioners have stepped up to help the family clean up their home. Below are a few excerpts from a new story in the O.C. Register:
The fire tore apart the roof of the house, shattered the light bulbs in a downstairs chandelier and fused a box of old doll clothes into a blackened lump. It caused an estimated $1 million in damage to the house and Sherman’s belonging.
Firefighters suspect the fire started in a fireplace at the back of the house. They are still investigating the cause, but believe it was accidental.
Monday began with a friend at the door – with eggs and bacon, biscuits and fruit. Text messages and phone calls went around: Did you hear? It was Pastor John’s house. Soon, the cars of all the people who had come to help lined the curbs for blocks around the burned house.
A neighbor, whom Sherman had met only a few times, came by to say that his house was being renovated and was empty – and invited Sherman to use it to store whatever he could find. By Monday afternoon, friends and church members were peeling apart old family photos in the back bedroom and laying them out to dry.
Sherman estimated that at least 50 people turned out to help. There was a woman who had woken up early to lend a hand after hearing about the fire on the evening news. There was a family who had planned to spend President’s Day at the movies – but instead spent the holiday carrying boxes and furniture from the Sherman home.
That is one of my favorite homes in the neighborhood. When I walk past it I can hear the theme song from the Walton’s, it has that old school comfy feeling to it. This is so sad, what a beautiful house. Truly a loss for the neighborhood. Thankfully, no one was hurt it seems.
#1,
It is indeed a beautiful home, or at least it was.
As far as I know, no one was hurt, thank God!
The firefighters are just now completing their pack-out.
This just breaks my heart. The Sherman’s are truly the nicest of folks who have done so much for others. God Bless them.
Kathy,
So many folks came by to check on them tonight. Clearly the Sherman family is beloved by many.
I am sure they will appreciate all our prayers and best wishes as they deal with the repercussions of this tragic fire.
Thank you for this information. I just wanted to make a correction. John Sherman is a pastor at Calvary Church of Santa Ana. They are not affiliated with Calvary Chapel.
This is my brother’s house. He has a wonderful attitude about the real value of life….and things are just things. This is so true. He is a giant of a man in my opinion. I am very thankful no one was hurt. I also think Firemen are heroes all the time.
John is so amazing that while his home was burning,he was outside comforting his worried and saddened neighbors,including myself.
I went home last night knowing things were going to be o.k., thats only after talking with John.He said, with a smile on his face, “this home is the Lords house,and that we’ll all be alot smarter tomorrow than we are today!” Man, thats character shining at a time of crisis! GOD BLESS YOU JOHN and FAMILY.
As I drove by today, there were numerous people working together to get things cleared out and cleaned up. There is definitely something to be said for having a church community. Good luck to this family as they try to rebuild this gorgeous house.
“Its in gods hands”. All we can do is just pray for the family !
Psalms 4:5
My son used to play baseball at Northeast and John was one of his coaches.He and his family were always so nice and respectful.I wish for them the best.My prayers go out to them.God Bless You!
Pastor John, the Lord put your name on my heart today for some reason. I Googled your name and Calvary Church and came to this sad news regarding the loss of your home. Of course God is using your trial to bring about good. Clearly your attitude is a great witness indeed. I’ll never forget the time you invested rooting and grounding me in the Word when I was new to the faith back in 1987. My favorite quote of yours, which I have shared with many folks to this day, “anything worth doing is worth doing poorly”. It sounds absurd, but really is wisdom.
I pray that you and your family will be blessed through this trial.