The blaze first erupted Friday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. and continued to intensify, with flames eventually shooting out of the synagogue's windows. Firefighters responded to the scene, trying to contain the situation and keep the fire from spreading to neighboring buildings. No injuries have been reported so far, according to WABC News.
ALERT: NBFD fighting fire at 112-year-old synagogue on Neilsen Street in downtown New Brunswick. pic.twitter.com/val1On9KM6
โ New Brunswick Today (@NB_Today) October 23, 2015
Poile Zedek was first established in 1901 as a mutual aid society, with its early congregants primarily consisting of Russian and Polish immigrants. The synagogue was then built in 1923. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Roughly 100 families currently belong to the synagogue, according to its website.
This is what it looked like before the fire:
And that is what i feel.