BEACHWOOD, Ohio — Firefighters battled a fire on the roof of Fairmount Temple in Beachwood that broke out Thursday afternoon and forced the evacuation of those inside, the Beachwood fire chief told News 5.
Just after 2:30 p.m., Beachwood Fire received a report of a working fire with smoke from the roof at Fairmount Temple on Fairmount Boulevard, said Beachwood Fire Chief Steven Holtzman.
Beachwood Fire crews responded and found an active fire from the roof line and lots of smoke coming from the temple, Holtzman said.
The fire chief added that the fire was involved in the lower section of the sanctuary, and while it did not make it inside the structure, it did involve part of the sanctuary roof.
"Crews arrived on the scene quickly and we got the fire extinguished with the first hose line that we pulled," he said.
By Thursday afternoon at about 4:30 p.m., crews were overhauling the fire, making sure the fire was completely out and that no one was hurt, Holtzman said.
Everyone was safely evacuated from the building, Holtzman said, including students that were at the school, which was in session. School administrators removed the children from the school, and the children were taken to a point off-site, set up as a collection point for families to come pick up the students.
Holtzman could not say what caused the fire, but said he hopes to have a more definitive answer as the evening goes on.
Holtzman confirmed crew from multiple nearby fire departments responded and assisted with operations.
A thick plume of black smoke could be seen rising from the temple at about 3 p.m. Thursday by Derek Gabriel, who was driving by the area. Another viewer shared a video of the fire that showed a Beachwood Fire Rescue truck on scene actively fighting fire as a University Heights Fire truck pulled up.
Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple is a Reform Jewish temple in Beachwood and home to the oldest existing Jewish congregation in the Cleveland area, according to Case Western Reserve University’s Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
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