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Fire Tears Through Historic Beth Hamedrash Hagodol Synagogue on LES: FDNY

 Firefighters battle a fire in an unoccupied synagogue on the Lower East Side on Sunday.
Firefighters battle a fire in an unoccupied synagogue on the Lower East Side on Sunday.
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FDNY

LOWER EAST SIDE — More than 100 firefighters scrambled to douse a massive blaze in a historic, unoccupied synagogue on the Lower East Side on Sunday evening, according to the FDNY. 

The fire broke out just before 7 p.m. inside the Beth Hamedrash Hagodol synagogue, at 64 Norfolk St. on Sunday, an FDNY spokesman said. Videos showed flames shooting out of the front of the building, which has been empty for years. 

”BethSmoke rises above Manhattan as firefighters battle a blaze at a synagogue. Courtesy of Hayley Richardson

About 140 firefighters brought the blaze under control by midnight, an FDNY spokesman said.

Two firefighters were treated for minor injuries, officials said.

The synagogue, which was designated a city landmark in 1967, shut down in 2007, according to an interview with Rabbi Mandl Greenbaum published on the blog The Lo-Down.

A video produced by the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy from 2008 shows the interior of the synagogue suffering from severe neglect, with crumbling ceilings and debris inside.

The Department of Buildings issued a violation to the synagogue’s owners in 2011 citing collapsed ceilings, and the violation remains open more than five years later, records show.

It was not immediately clear what sparked the fire, officials said.