VIDEOS: Members of a Rockland County synagogue are praying they will be able to salvage special religious documents after a fire destroyed their place of worship in Pomona.
News 12 was there as the sacred Torah scrolls were removed from the rubble, with the congregation looking on in anticipation.
Contractors first pulled a safe from what was left of Chassidim of 110, a Hasidic synagogue on North Ridge Road.
Then, a crew from Chaverim EMS of Rockland used heavy duty tools to open the safe to retrieve the scrolls inside. Officials said a worshipper arrived to the synagogue at about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to find the building on fire, mainly on the right side before it was fully enveloped.
Everything – including the safe – fell into the basement as the inside of the building collapsed.