SENECA FALLS, N.Y. (RNS) Investigators are combing through debris, looking for the cause of a March 5 fire that heavily damaged the Women’s Interfaith Institute, which collects writings by female religious and spiritual leaders.

The blaze caused extensive damage to the roof structure and extensive smoke and water damage throughout, police said. Most of the building’s stained glass windows survived the fire.

The worst damage may be to the Institute’s extensive library. Water poured on the blaze by firefighters collected in the basement, where many of the books were kept.

“There was very deep water in the basement,” said the Rev. Allison Stokes, the founding director of the Institute, “so there was no fire damage to the books but water damage, and probably some of them are lost.”

Many of the thousands of books in the library collection can be salvaged, she said, along with other items in the building, including a collection of narrative quilts which were found under debris.

“They’re sopping wet, but we think we can save them,” Stokes said.

The building and its contents were insured, but many of the books are irreplaceable, she said.

The institute is located in a former Wesleyan church adjacent to the

Women’s Rights National Historical Park in the downtown business district. The building was erected in 1871 by the same congregation that housed the first women’s rights convention, in 1848.