A fire ripped through a small Brooklyn synagogue yesterday, gutting the front of the building and injuring more than a dozen firefighters.
While the fire is not believed to be suspicious, the flames that shot out of Congregation Beth Aron brought back images from a horrific era, its rabbi said.
“I saw it burning,” said Rabbi Yitzchok Ausch.
“It reminded me of the Holocaust.”
Neighbor Rivka Wachsler, 28, looked out her window at about 10:45 a.m. and saw smoke billowing from the two-story brick building at 1463 57th St.
Wachsler quickly dialed 911, and soon the structure was engulfed in flames, with fire eating away at the roof.
“By the time the firefighters got here, it was all in flames,” she said.
No one was inside when the fire broke out, but hours earlier a group of people had been praying inside.
“It was such a miracle,” said Helen Hercberg, 75. “Two hours before, my husband, was praying there.”
The Orthodox synagogue, which has 40 to 50 members, was started over 35 years ago by Ausch’s late father, Jacob, who survived a concentration camp.
While many prayer items were lost, the synagogue’s three treasured Torah scrolls only suffered minor heat damage.
Jacob’s personal books remained intact in a bookcase under a gaping hole in the roof, congregants said.
“Everything burned around it,” Ausch said. “That’s a miracle.”
Fourteen firefighters were treated at area hospitals for minor injuries, officials said.
Investigators believe the blaze may have been caused by an unattended lighted candle.