CONYERS--Fire gutted a building on the property of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit Nov. 20 that was being used to store an extensive inventory of bonsai pottery for mail order customers around the country.

The structure, built in the 1940s by the monks as a milking parlor for Jersey cows, had been converted to use as the shipping center for pots imported from Japan, Korea and China for gardeners working with bonsai. The Trappist monastery is also a center for bonsai trees and shrubs, but the dwarf plants are housed in a different location.

In addition to the pottery, reportedly valued at more than $100,000, the gutted building housed an office with computers for the mail-order business.

The fire was contained to the barn, located away from the main structures of the monastery, but near other barns and silos. The cost of damage to the inventory and building has not been released, but both are insured, according to the abbot, Dom Bernard Johnson. They have already received some insurance funds to re-establish the office, he said. A cat living in the offices, known as B.C. for "bonsai cat," died of smoke inhalation.

The fire call came in at 8:49 p.m. from one of the monks, according to Mike Lee, deputy chief of training for Rockdale County. Night prayer is held between 8 and 8:30 p.m. and the monastic community normally retires by 9 p.m.

A first response by three engines, a rescue squad and battalion chief was augmented by an additional engine, two additional officers, and mutual aid from neighboring Newton County, Lee said. About 25 firemen were on the scene off Highway 212.

"Fifty percent of the roof line was involved when we pulled up," Lee said.

Firefighters, who were on the scene until 1:15 a.m., were pleased they were able to contain the fire to the one structure, Lee said. Two other buildings are nearby, including the original barn in which the founders of the monastery lived until they built their first residence.

Dom Johnson said three quarters of the roof had collapsed into the building, but that some of the pottery was undamaged because it is originally fired and can withstand intense heat. "Many of the pots will be saved," he said.

Fire inspectors were expected to begin an investigation into the exact cause of the fire Nov. 24.