A fire broke out early this morning in a shelter that serves as a synagogue in a residential building in the Givat Mordechai neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Firefighters were called to a seven-story building on Shahal Street at around 3 a.m., and immediately began putting out the fire while searching for casualties or trapped people. Fire control was achieved, there were no casualties but damage was done to property.
Reshef Haim Mizrahi, the shift commander who commanded the firefighters: "We arrived on the site with four crews assisted by a crane. We saw the smoke exiting the shelter's ventilation vents. We broke the iron door and immediately started putting out the fire. We were grateful that no harm was done to any of the Torah scrolls or other books either by fire or water. It is too early to determine what caused the fire, but according to the findings on the ground, it is suspected that it started with a forgotten Shabbat hot-tray catching alight. The investigation team has already begun investigating the circumstances of the incident."