RUTHERFORD, N.J. (PIX11) – A rabbi and his family, including three young children, escaped a synagogue fire that broke out in Rutherford on Friday, a neighbor told PIX11 News.

Neighbors said the rabbi and his family were sleeping in the synagogue when the fire broke out around 3:45 a.m. at Congregation Beth El, located on Montross Avenue. They later fled to a nearby home, according to neighbors.

“I heard all the noise and I came out to see what’s going on,” Frank Wilson, a neighbor, told PIX11 News. “And the rabbi came to my house and the wife and kids all came by… and they came out just with their lives.”

Police warned residents living nearby of falling embers and to call 911 if a fire starts at their home.

The building is a total loss and there was a partial collapse, Rutherford offi

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