Crime & Safety

Fire Destroys Synagogue In Pomona: Report

The blaze spread quickly throughout the building, and deteriorating conditions drove firefighters outside.

A home used as a house of worship burned down in Pomona Wednesday.
A home used as a house of worship burned down in Pomona Wednesday. (Hillcrest Fire Co. No. 1)

Editor's Note: The status of the synagogue was incorrect in the original version of this report. Patch regrets the error.

POMONA, NY — At 5:29 a.m. Wednesday, the Hillcrest Fire Company along with an engine from the Thiells Fire Department were dispatched to a report of smoke at a house of worship on North Ridge Road.

What they found was a building engulfed in flames. Crews began an aggressive interior attack but deteriorating conditions caused a switch to defensive operations, Hillcrest Fire Company officials said. The house was destroyed.

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Rockland County Fire Coordinator Chris Kear told The Journal News that Chaverim of Rockland tried to recover religious items reported to be in a safe. SEE: Synagogue destroyed Wednesday had permits from Pomona

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The synagogue was called Chassidim 110 – Chabad Shul, according to news site matsav.com.

Haverstraw Ambulance, Haverstraw police, and Rockland County Sheriff’s investigators were on scene. The cause of the fire was still under investigation, fire officials said Wednesday.

They thanked Wayne Hose Co. No. 1 out of Stony Point, the New City Fire Department, Suffern Ladder Company and SW Johnson SFE Co No. 1 from Garnerville for mutual aid.

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