The fire, which broke out at about 1:40 a.m. Wednesday, sent the church, built in 1879, into thick smoke, as several parishioners and nearby residents watched in tears as they witness helplessly how the blaze gobbled their place of worship.

The Oslob fire marshal, Senior Fire Officer 2 Jaime Suycano, said they had to push their two fire trucks from the fire station, 50 meters from the church, because these had defective engines. Fire trucks from Santander, Dalaguete, Argao and Sibonga arrived to help battle the blaze after a general alarm was sent out.

The origin of the fire, which was placed under control at 4 a.m., was still being investigated but Suycano said it could have been sparked by an unattended candle. Parish priest Fr. Valentino Gemelo was in Cebu City during the fire for a medical checkup.

When the smoke cleared, parishioners saw in disbelief how the image of their parish patron, Our Lady of Immaculate Concepcion, stood untouched by the fire inside its glass case.

"This is really a miracle. All the other items inside the Church were destroyed but the image of the Our Lady of Immaculate Concepcion remained scratch-free," said one resident.

A Church employee said the computer that housed documents of baptismal, wedding, deaths, and other church papers, were also destroyed by the fire.

The Archdiocese of Cebu expressed its sadness over the incident and urged the parish priest to immediately look for a suitable place to consider as temporary church.

Oslob Mayor Ronald Guarin said he could not yet determine whether or not the local government can provide assistance for the renovation of the church, stressing the law that separates the church and state.

The Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Parish was created in 1847 but the church itself was constructed in 1879, according to Cebu Archdiocese media liaison officer Monsignor Achilles Dakay.

Dakay lashed out the provincial government for not looking into the plights of fire stations in the different towns here. He said had the Oslob fire station was equipped with fire trucks in good condition, the fire could have been prevented from further destroying the entire church.