A rabbi, his wife and six children escaped a synagogue fire that broke out in New Jersey early Friday.
Neighbors told PIX11 that the rabbi and his family were sleeping in the synagogue, Congregation Beth El, when the fire broke out around 3:45 a.m. The building also houses the Chabad of South Bergen County and The Meadowlands.
The synagogue burned down in a four-alarm fireball that rained embers on the Rutherford, New Jersey, neighborhood.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The three-story building appeared to collapse within an hour, WABC reported. Three structures were affected by the fire.
"It's a very old home. It's wood," Rutherford Mayor Frank Nunziato said, WABC reported. "This is just a very old home that may just have burned down."
Nunziato added the fire was "absolutely devastating" for the entire community, Fox 5 reported.
"Luckily the rabbi and his family, six members total, were the only members in the structure, they were able to get out, but the structure is a complete loss," Rutherford Police Department Chief John R. Russo said, WABC reported.
The rabbi and his family fled to a nearby home.
"I heard all the noise and I came out to see what’s going on," Frank Wilson, a neighbor, told PIX11 News. "And I saw the rabbi came to my house … he came with the family … and they came out just with their lives."
The building is a total loss and there was a partial collapse, Rutherford officials said.
The synagogue was firebombed in January 2012. A 19-year-old man was later arrested and charged with throwing Molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices in the rabbi's second-floor bedroom, WABC reported.
This congregation, which moved to the location in 1953, dates back to 1919.
"Early Friday morning, a massive fire tore through the Jewish Community Center of the Meadowlands, home to Chabad of the Meadowlands – Congregation Beth El. It was also where the Shluchim Rabbi Yitzchok and Bina Lerman lived and welcomed guests with warmth and love,” Congregation Beth-El posted on its website with a plea for donations to help the rabbi’s family.
"Thank God, by a true miracle, the Lermans escaped just in time before the flames consumed the entire structure. But they lost everything: their home, their belongings, and the heart of their community.
"The Lerman family urgently needs our help, and together we can support them in rebuilding both their lives and this cherished center of Jewish life."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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