LAFLIN – Just 24 hours after fire forced the evacuation of Wyoming Area Catholic School in Exeter, its students, families, teachers, staff, and administrators gathered at Saint Maria Goretti Parish – not simply to pray – but to express gratitude.
The school community came together Wednesday morning, Sept. 2, 2026, grateful that every student and adult made it safely outside the building.
“This is step one, to come together before God, to come together as a school community to give thanks to one another and to be thankful for our safety,” Father Michael Drevitch, Pastor of Saint Maria Goretti Parish, said during his homily at the 11:00 a.m. Mass.
Throughout his homily, Father Drevitch returned to a theme he had shared with the students just two days earlier at their first school Mass of the year: Sometimes, God is found in the least expected places.
On Monday, he had encouraged students to recognize God’s presence not only in the Eucharist and the Word of God, but also through sports, academics, the arts, and other ordinary moments of school life.
“Then yesterday,” he said, “we came to recognize that God definitely presents himself in unexpected ways.”
Father Drevitch acknowledged the fire could be viewed as a disaster and a loss. Classrooms were damaged and books and supplies were lost.
But Father Drevitch urged the community to see something more.
“You can look at what happened yesterday as a disaster, as an emergency, as a loss,” he said. “Or you can look at it and recognize how God was present in our teachers and staff, how God was present in the first responders who literally put their lives at risk for our sake, and you can recognize how God was present in our children who stayed safe, brave, and listened to instructions and did what they were expected to do.”
Near the end of his homily, Father Drevitch, who teaches religion at Wyoming Area Catholic School, added a short example to emphasize how the situation had students reflecting God’s love.
“As students were dismissed, I saw some siblings come out, who sometimes would normally be fighting with one another, yesterday, they were holding hands and embracing one another. I saw it in a very beautiful way,” he said.
For Wyoming Area Catholic Principal Eileen Rishcoff, the sight of so many families gathered at Mass made her emotional.
“I am overwhelmed at the number of people that are here,” she told families and students before Mass.
Rishcoff reminded them that a school is about far more than books, supplies and belongings that were left behind when students evacuated.
“Sometimes things happen,” Rishcoff said. “But the most important thing is that we got out of the school safely.”
And they did so quickly.
Just after 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1, a teacher noticed that lights were flickering in the lower end of the school, near the younger grades.
When Amy Rosencrance, School Safety and Security Coordinator, went to investigate, she noticed smoke coming from the area.
“We quickly evacuated all of the kids from there and basically made sure that everyone got out of the building,” Rosencrance said. “At that moment, as I was checking to make sure everyone was safe and all of the kids were out, there were flames.”
The fire alarm was pulled, and students immediately began evacuating.
Seventh grader Victoria Sabetta had just finished math class when the fire alarm sounded.
“I was about to put my books away and all of a sudden we heard the fire alarm, so I dropped my books and I just went out,” Sabetta said.
It wasn’t until Sabetta was outside that she first saw smoke.
“It wasn’t until we got outside and the police officers started coming,” she added.
Ironically, the school had planned to conduct its first fire drill of the school year that same day. Instead, the students and staff found themselves responding to a real emergency.
“It was definitely well executed,” Rosencrance said while thanking first responders for their quick response. “I absolutely thank each and every one of them. Two police officers showed up immediately and we were inside the building together and they started to put out the fire. Within minutes, we had Exeter, West Pittson, Hughestown, Pittston city, Pittston Township, Kingston, every fire person was here. We had the Greater Pittston Ambulance and their response and how quickly they got here, I’m so thankful for that, because that really helped contain it and save this building.”
Students were transported to Wyoming Area High School, where they were reunited with their families.
The Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire. School officials said there was considerable damage to at least two classrooms, with smoke and water damage affecting other portions of the building.
As school administrators face the work of beginning cleanup and restoration, students will be continuing their education at Saint Maria Goretti Parish in Laflin.
The parish has opened its religious education facilities, including classrooms and other spaces, to Wyoming Area Catholic School beginning Tuesday, Sept. 8, following Labor Day.
For Father Drevitch, the temporary relocation is itself an expression of what a parish is meant to be.
“A parish isn’t just a group of people who go to church,” he said. “A parish is a community who helps people when they need something. A parish is God’s hands at work as we take care of our children, as we keep them safe and provide them an education.”