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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: August 27, 2006 |
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A police officer and a first aid squad member repeatedly dashed into a burning synagogue and rescued its eight Torahs before the building's floor collapsed.
No one was injured in the pre-dawn blaze Thursday at the Highland Park Conservative Temple and Center, but the structure was badly damaged.
Members of the 420-family Jewish synagogue said they were grateful to Sgt. Joseph Spezio and Andrew Brown, a member of the Highland Park First Aid Squad.
"We don't worship the Torah, but it is sacred to us," Rabbi Emeritus Yakov Hilsenrath said of the scrolls, which contain the first five books of the Bible.
Brown said he and Spezio saw flames burning through the floor from the basement when they entered. It took several trips to remove six Torahs from the sanctuary and two that were in a small chapel.
"I'm an observant Jew and I'm aware of the value and meaning of the Torahs," said Brown, who belongs to a different temple. "You just go in. You do it without thinking." He said the heat was not severe, but that the smoke made his eyes tear.
They also rescued remnants of a Torah desecrated by Nazis that Hilsenrath found in Krakow, Poland.
The cause of the fire was not immediately determined. It was reported about 4:20 a.m. and under control about six hours later after more than 100 firefighters responded. |
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