Historic Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, caught fire on 9 October and the sanctuary of the 82-year-old structure is a "total loss." Smoke damaged the rest of the building and the cathedral's 3,000-pipe organ, dedicated just last November, sustained "significant damage," according to the Fire Department.

The Arizona Republic reported that "the blaze appears to have been started by a worship candle at the back of the cathedral, then spread to the second floor and attic, burning as hot as 1200 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas."

Teri Murphy, a parishioner from Tempe, "ran like a maniac yelling 'fire' when she realised that her son was upstairs taking piano lessons." "We tried to go back through the hallway but the smoke was too thick," said Ms Murphy, the Episcopal chaplain at Arizona State. "We would have died if we tried to go through because the kids were panicking and having trouble breathing," she told the newspaper.

But the side door was locked so she punched her fist through a window and yelled for help. A man who appeared to be a transient jerked the steel door open, freeing her and the children. "It was like a superhuman effort," she told the newspaper. "I had never seen him before and have not seem him since."

The newspaper reported that it took about 85 fire fighters about 15 minutes to control the blaze. The cathedral, with 360 members, finished a $1.85 million restoration last year.

Roman Catholic Monsignor, Edward Ryle of Phoenix, stopped to offer the church support and solidarity. "It's just really tragic," he said to the newspaper. "The church, being a human institution, is not immune from accidents."

Church members are vowing to rebuild, saying resurrection is what the church is about. Members plan to gather Sunday for worship services, even if they must use the cathedral's courtyard.