Fire breaks out at Brooklyn synagogue
It’s a Hanukkah miracle!
The Torah and other religious reading inside a 60-year-old Brooklyn synagogue were saved following a Wednesday morning blaze, fire officials and community leaders said.
The fire started just before 8 a.m. at 4901 18th Ave. in Mapleton and was put out by 60 firefighters within 45 minutes, according to the FDNY.
The 100-year-old mother of New York State Senator Simcha Felder, whose father founded the Congregation Bais Aaron, was living in an apartment on the first-floor and safely made it out, according to community leader Jack Meyer.
The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire at the two-story building that houses the synagogue and an apartment on the first floor and two apartments on the second floor.
In one of the top-floor apartments lived a scribe who wrote Torahs and other religious works by hand, according to Meyer.
He also made it out safely along with a family with two small children in the other apartment, Meyer said.
None of the religious readings were believed to have been damaged, Meyer added.
Four people were treated for injuries by non-FDNY ambulances and were expected to be OK. It was unclear who received treatment.
When reached by phone for comment Felder said, “Not right now. I’m taking care of my mother.”