JESUS statue refused to burn from burning Brooklyn religious shop

The Jesus statue was placed outside the religious shop as the FDNY investigated the fire.





Quick-moving firefighters swept into a fire that had erupted in a religious shop in Brooklyn Wednesday, and pulled out a 4-foot statue of Jesus basically unscathed, witnesses said.

The fire, which broke out on Broadway near Belvidere St. in Bushwick at 12:28 p.m., left Botanica La Jose seriously damaged with a pile of charred debris on the sidewalk, witnesses said.

Miraculously, there were no serious injuries. There was one minor injury, but the person refused medical attention at the scene, officials said.

“God is good. He was here today,” said Evelyn Arroyo, 56, who works in the shop. “Everything in here is material, but your life is more important. It could have been worse.”



The 4-foot statue of Jesus was undamaged when firefighters pulled it from a burning religious store in Brooklyn on Wednesday.

Arroyo, who was at work salvaging what she could, said she didn’t know how the fire started in the front of the store but speculated it may have been caused by an electrical short.

“We were cleaning the floors, and I went out for a few minutes, and then there was smoke, and then the fire broke out,” she said. “It happened so quick.”

The owner was in the bathroom in the back of the shop.

“Thank God someone came in,” Arroyo said. “She didn’t realize there was smoke. She was in shock.”




The shop went down in flames, but a 4-foot statue of Jesus was unscathed.

Arroyo said she’s grateful for the actions of the firefighters. “I pray for them and their families,” she said.

Fire officials said the initial call came in at 12:28 p.m., and firefighters were on scene at 12:33 p.m. The fire was brought under control at 1:06 p.m.

Fire Marshals are investigating the cause of the fire.