Brooklyn Jewish family of 10 homeless after fire guts house on last night of Passover

Borough Park rallies to support stricken family.

By David Hellerman, World Israel News

A Jewish family with eight children was left homeless after their Brooklyn home was gutted by a fire on Friday night, the last night of Passover, the New York Jewish Week reported.

Simcha and Sarah Salz and their eight children were in synagogue or visiting neighbors when a fire broke out in their Borough Park home. AMNY reported that two firefighters and a local resident suffered minor injuries.

Fire officials have not yet determined the cause of the two-alarm blaze.

The family has so far not commented on the matter.

Masbia, a local kosher food pantry, is fundraising for the family. It said in a statement that the family has “nothing but the clothes on their backs.”

Alex Rappaport, Masbia’s executive director, told the Jewish Week that Borough Park residents leaving synagogues on Friday saw “the entire neighborhood was in smoke.”

“The father was just another person walking home from shul, smelling the smoke, seeing the smoke and as he got closer, it was his own home,” Rappaport said. “That’s everyone’s nightmare.”

Another Borough Park resident, Chaim Schwartz who launched a fundraising campaign told the Jewish Week that the community has rallied behind the stricken family with neighbors offering food, money, beds and more.

“The generosity is unbelievable,” Schwartz said. “This gives them a lot of courage to continue their life.”