בילדער פון נייטרא

Passover oven blamed in yeshiva fire
By SEAN GORMAN
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: April 26, 2005)

A Saturday morning blaze that destroyed a two-story yeshiva building apparently was caused by a large oven that was used to cook matzo and other food in preparation for Passover, Mount Kisco's fire chief said yesterday.
"We're pretty sure it was caused by the oven," Mount Kisco Fire Chief Frank Mannion said yesterday. "They only use it once a year, just for the holiday."

Mannion said the Westchester Cause and Origin Team traced the blaze's cause to the fire in the oven, which was attached to the building that burned at the Yeshiva Farms Settlement School off Croton Lake Road.

The blaze spread after yeshiva residents had finished cooking Friday and gone to bed, the chief said, adding that the large brick oven is not the kind that can just be shut off.

"I would guess it takes three or four days for that fire (in the oven) to die down ... because it's a wood fire oven," Mannion said.

Mannion said the Cause and Origin Team's tentative theory is there was a defect in the old oven that allowed the fire to spread to the rest of the building. The chief also said a yeshiva resident told him about 100 people lived in apartments in the burned-out building, a converted barn also used for storage. Everyone got out safely, and no firefighters were injured.

Early yesterday afternoon, several men at the yeshiva looked upon the remains of the building where there were soot-covered timbers and scorched concrete blocks.

Another man who wouldn't give his name approached a reporter about 15 minutes later and said the yeshiva's spiritual leader told residents there they should not speak to the media.

Firefighters first arrived at the scene about 2:10 a.m. Saturday. As many as 150 firefighters responded to the blaze, including volunteers from departments in Mount Kisco, Millwood, Bedford Hills, Armonk, Katonah and Yorktown. The rubble has continued to smolder, and Mount Kisco volunteers had to go out again yesterday morning to douse it, Mannion said.

"There's no danger of it spreading," Mannion said. "It's very difficult to get it out, and very time-consuming ... We're going to do our best."

Blaze destroys yeshiva building

By BRIAN J. HOWARD (THE JOURNAL NEWS)

By BRIAN J. HOWARD
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: April 24, 2005)


As many as 150 firefighters from Mount Kisco and surrounding departments spent half a day battling a blaze at a New Castle yeshiva yesterday, only to return hours later after remnants of the fire flared up again.

No residents or firefighters were injured in the 2:10 a.m. fire at Yeshiva Farms Settlement School off Pines Bridge Road. However, a large two-story structure on the multi-acre compound was completely leveled. As firefighters sprayed the building's charred remains, only a tall brick fireplace at the far end of the building was left standing.

Mount Kisco Assistant Fire Chief Richard Hardy said the structure was a residence that also was used for storage and food preparation.

"The biggest problem we had was all this caving in," Hardy said, gesturing to the wreckage around 6:45 last night, nearly two hours after returning to the scene. "We couldn't pull (the building's contents) out. We soaked it the best we could. Hopefully, we won't have to come back again."

The fire comes at a particularly significant time for the Hasidic enclave, where the property overlooks the New Croton Reservoir. Passover began at sundown yesterday. Dozens of residents watched as firefighters tended to the scene, but they declined to comment on the fire.

Departments from Millwood, Bedford Hills, Armonk, Katonah and Yorktown assisted in battling the blaze, while Ossining, Chappaqua and Goldens Bridge were on standby.

Hardy said the balloon construction of the building and the significant amount of materials inside made the fire difficult to fight. Given those factors, he added, the time it took to fight the fire and the fact that it flared up again weren't surprising.

There was little hope of saving the building, though.

"When you come on the scene and it's fully involved like this, you're fighting an uphill battle," said Hardy.

The fact that no one was hurt in the blaze was of some satisfaction to firefighters and residents.

"When we pulled up, that was our first question," third Assistant Chief Michael Boles said. "Is everyone out? Is everyone safe?"

The Westchester County Cause and Origin Team ruled the fire accidental, but the cause remains undetermined.