By COLlive reporter
A fire broke out in a shopping center which houses the Chabad Center of Colorado Springs in Colorado on Rosh Hashana morning.
The fire started on Monday morning at 9:40 am, shortly before the Minyan for davening was set to begin.
Several people were in the Shul, including the family of Rabbi Moshe and Zelda Liberow, who direct Chabad of Southern Colorado, when a large explosion was heard from the attic of the group of stores, their son Zalman Liberow told COLlive.
“We were in the shul, and suddenly we heard a big bang, and the walls shook,” Zalman Liberow said. “A few minutes later it started to smell very strongly of smoke, and when we looked outside, we saw smoke pouring from the store next to ours.
Yossi Segal, a bochur from Crown Heights currently on Merkos Shlichus in Colorado Springs, said he smelled the fire, and moments later the Shul filled up with smoke so quickly, they barely had time to save the Sefer Torahs.
“We ran through the smoke, but we could barely see where we were going,” he told COLlive. “I grabbed a Torah and my Tefillin, and took them outside. We tried to run in to save more seforim, but the smoke was too thick, we just couldn’t get back in,” he said.
“Just as we got out of the shopping center, you couldn’t see a thing anymore because the entire place was engulfed in smoke with flames high into the sky,” Zalman Liberow said.
The Shluchim and bochurim walked 15 minutes with the Shul’s three Sefer Torahs to the Liberow home, where they relocated the Rosh Hashana prayers.
Even though the Shul has sustained a lot of damage, Rabbi Moshe Liberow is grateful to G-d that no one was hurt. “Bechasdei Hashem this happened before Davening so that the crowd wasn’t there yet, this could’ve been a lot more chaotic and a lot more dangerous,” Rabbi Liberow told COLlive.
“Nevertheless, the damage is quite extensive and a big setback for us,” Rabbi Liberow said. “During the month of Tishrei when we have so many programs and people coming from all over the area, locals, tourists and residents from the entire region,” he said.
“All the events have to be relocated, as the Shul has to be repaired: classes, Yom Kippur services, Simchas Torah and a myriad of other events. We are hoping the Chabad community around the world can lend a hand and help us recover during this time,” he added.
Donations are urgently needed, as the fire department has informed the Shluchim that the Chabad Center, the only Shul in the area, will be closed for at least the next 6 months.
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To those posters who are yelling “insurance,” realize that the reality is that Tishrei has to go on and “insurance companies” aren’t known for their zrizus. It doesn’t say “vayashkeim AIG baboker,” at least not in my (seemingly abridged) version of the Pentateuch. This is aside from the fact that insurance companies have never been known to pay anywhere near the replacement value of seforim. These are the Aseres Yemei Teshuva, at least on my Maxwell House calendar. Who has the breiter pleitzos to tell people not to help a whole community of Jews who have just lost their central… Read more »
I am here and the Rabbi has loads of expenses inquired from this whole ordeal that insurance will not pay for. Your welcome to call him up yourself and hear a nice long list. Please stop assuming. DONATIONS ARE VERY MUCH NEEDED.
you don’t have shulichim like these guys around any more…emesdik, chassidisher, and after a fire he will be come rich-off insurance money…mit mazel…donate…
Boruch Hashem no one was hurt. Sure the buildings insurance will take care of the structural damage and there should also be insurance in place for the sifrei kodesh and the furniture etc. Hopefully the local community who no doubt appreciate the services of Chabad will cerrtainly rally round to help financially. Hatzlocho Rabbo
These are great shluchim who host many families and individuals, operate the only mikvah within an hour and are both very knowledgeable and helpful to hundreds. Their Tishrei programs need space and their kitchen has also suffered damage. Whoever can help them is helping an entire community and dovor be’ito mah noim.
Costs of relocation all activities during tishri and repairs of some items not covered under insurance…. MONEY IS NEEDED!
Moshe and zeldy best shluchim ever hazlocho lemaala miderech hateva legamri begashmiut uberuchniyut
Noch a fire vert men Raich
Surely they and the building’s owners have insurance to cover repairs and replacements? BH no one was hurt or worse & clearly it had nothing to do with an issue with the shul. Building insurance should cover everything.