Construction workers rescued from fire at New Square synagogue undergoing major expansion

Several construction workers were rescued from a fire Friday morning at the site where New Square's giant new synagogue is being built after they were reported trapped on the roof of the structure.

Hillcrest Fire Chief Chris Bowers said a fire developed in the basement of 18 Jefferson Avenue around 10:38 a.m. The synagogue under construction will be "the largest synagogue in America and second largest in the world," according to contractors McGowan Builders.

Initial calls reported four construction workers were trapped on the roof of the building. Multiple fire departments were on the scene, including Monsey, Hillcrest, Thiells and New City. The construction workers were rescued around 11 a.m. and were evaluated by Spring Hill EMS and New Square Hatzoloh responders.

“We were able to get access to the roof and have [the workers] guided down from the roof area,” Bowers said. “There’s a lot of debris in there and lot of storage, so we have to pull that apart and evacuate the smoke out of the building.”

No major injuries were reported. Fire officials said the blaze likely started when a bag of towels and other flammable materials in the basement laundry room caught fire.

The new synagogue will include a sanctuary of over 37,000 square feet for over 4,000 people, according to the McGowan website. Construction is scheduled to be completed by May 2025. New Square's existing synagogue will be renovated and will be part of a "sacred complex of immense scale," according to the project description.

The existing synagogue is New Square's only place of worship. Built in the 1960s, the shul is the village Grand Rebbe's place of worship, where all of his followers are urged to attend services, said Rabbi Justin Schwartz, a member of the Rockland Illegal Housing Task Force.

The incident and exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.

New Square, named after the Ukrainian town Skvyra , where the Skverer Hasidi m originated, was settled in 1954 on a 130-acre dairy farm. The Skverer Grand Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky wanted to move his people out of overcrowded Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and had concerns about his followers being assimilated into secular society.

In July 1961, New Square became a village — the first Hasidic village — after a state court ruling. New Square was incorporated to control its zoning and development from a restrictive Ramapo after the town blocked efforts to build a larger community synagogue.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Construction workers rescued from fire at New Square synagogue undergoing major expansion