Historic Kehilath Jeshurun engulfed by flames

A four-alarm fire tore into a historic Manhattan synagogue, placing the 110-year-old Kehilath Jeshurun, a modern Orthodox congregation on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, in danger of collapse.

Throughout the tony Manhattan neighborhood, fire department vehicles screamed towards the burning structure.  Local residents, synagogue members and media poured into the quiet block that was the home of the synagogue.  Within an hour, close to a thousand were in the street as the synagogue, which was founded in 1872, was engulfed in flames. Smoke billowed through the collapsed roof and seeped through the historic façade as fire-fighters perched on extended ladders pouring streams of water into the structure. Smoke steamed out of the once glorious stained glass windows.

On the street, flashing red and white lights glared in the hot summer night. The block between Park Avenue to Lexington Avenue on 85th Street was cordoned off and all non essential personnel were removed from the closed zone.  A Fire Department spokesman warned of a “possible building collapse.”

One firefighter was observed being removed by stretcher from the scene. According to sources, four of New York’s Bravest suffered minor injuries; no civilians were hurt. 

Religious artifacts, including the congregation’s Torah scrolls, had been previously removed for the building’s ongoing renovation.   “We’re lucky,” Rabbi Haskel Lookstein said, “every Torah scroll is as special as a human life.” The venerable Rabbi briefly shared words of inspiration with the gathered crowd. “There are two ways you can look at this,” said the rabbi, who has been serving the shul for more than 52 years. “You can cry over the loss, which is a very very real thing. But the most important thing to do in the face of something like this, is to ask yourself, ‘how do we respond? Now, what do you do when you have just had a loss?’…We will rebuild.”

“Rabbi Lookstein is a hero. I am taken by his courage. They will rebuild,” reiterated Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, Executive Vice President of the New York Board of Rabbis, who stood with the stoic Rabbi Lookstein as he addressed reporters at the scene.

“Every rabbi and every Jew, every New Yorker has their heart with this congregation.  We want to see this congregation rebuilt, and become more vibrant than ever,” Rabbi Yakov Kermaier of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue.

Flames remained visible through the west facing windows of the structure even an hour after the fire was declared under control.  By 10:35, Fire Department personnel and Fire Department vehicles had begun to leave the area in front of the building.  With the fire under control, residents of the neighboring building were allowed to return to their apartments.  The Ramaz Upper School building opposite the synagogue is undamaged; the status of the contiguous building is unknown.  

NYFD Deputy Chief Jim Hodgens, commanding officer on the scene, said the Buildings Department would assess the stability of the 110 year old structure.  The Chief stated that there was no imminent danger of collapse, and accordingly local residents were allowed to return to their homes.

Close to 50 fire and rescue vehicles responded to the fire.  After the flames had been extinguished, as vehicles were leaving the scene, fire fighters, police and fire marshals were queried about the origin of the fire, “It’s too early. It’s just too early,” responded a Fire Marshall. ”Nothing has been ruled out and nothing has been confirmed…The investigators will be here all night, the investigation is just beginning.”