A fire early Friday morning destroyed a historic synagogue and Jewish community center in Rutherford, New Jersey, as the congregation’s rabbi and his family escaped unharmed.

The four-alarm fire broke out at approximately 2:45 a.m. at Congregation Beth El Chabad. Rabbi Yitzchok Lerman, his wife, and four of their children were sleeping in an apartment inside the synagogue.

Officers near the congregation responded to the scene, where they found that the entire south side of the building was engulfed in flames, according to Rutherford Police Department Chief John Russo.

Lerman and his family were able to escape the building unharmed, after which the fire spread throughout the rest of the building which was deemed a “complete loss,” according to Russo.

“We saw orange flames outside our wi

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