Two days after a fire destroyed a Portsmouth church, authorities ordered a nearby building torn down.

Skipjack Nautical Wares on High Street was razed by crews Saturday morning.

Store owner Joe Elder who lived in an apartment above the showroom lost everything - his home, business and irreplaceable antiques and original works of art.

While his building wasn't touched by the fire, part of the Zion Baptist Church fell on damaged it when it collapsed.

Elder says Portsmouth city officials, including the fire department haven't been clear in telling him why his building must come down.

"The city of Portsmouth, the people who make all the decisions, never talked to us....the next thing we know, our buildinf is going down," said Elder.

After part of the church exploded, it left the buildings walls warped, and city official deemed it too dangerous to enter.

It was torn down this morning, with 18-th and 19-th century art, period furniture and other antique items still inside.

"The city want thie building torn down, and that's been their only concern," said Elder. "They don't give a you-know-what-about us."

Portsmouth councilwoman Elizabeth Psimas blames the communication breakdown on bureaucratic red tape.

"You've got so many layers. In a normal situation the fire chief becomes the man in charge. This is way more than that. You've got five, six layers of government, and that makes it really tough," said Psimas.

A local fire investigation team is working alongside the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms in trying to find out what caused the fire.

Joe Elder has not fully assessed the value of everything he lost.

He is unsure if his business will ever recover.