By COLlive reporter
As flames engulfed 658 Eastern Parkway early Friday morning, the bochurim inside had no time to think—only to run. Now, a day later, the full picture of their escape is coming to light, revealing a terrifying fight for survival and the terrible losses they endured.
For some, escaping meant jumping from windows. One bochur leaped from the second floor, flames still on his body when he hit the ground. Others smashed through glass to climb out, leaving behind everything they owned. But one, who remains hospitalized in critical condition, did not make it out in time.
Friends recount the horror of seeing Shmuel ben Meirav pounding on the window and shouting “help!” begging for help to escape the flames, unable to get out due to the metal bars on the windows. He then fainted due to smoke inhalation as flames engulfed the house.
Fifteen minutes later, a firefighter feeling his way through blinding smoke finally found him—unconscious on a bed. “I couldn’t see anything,” the firefighter told COLlive. “I was feeling under beds, over beds—just searching. And then I found him.” The bochur had inhaled so much smoke that he collapsed before he could escape. By the time firefighters reached him, the building was already gutted. It had taken precious minutes to break through the heavy metal gates and get inside.
On the third floor, another bochur was asleep when he smelled something strange. It was just a faint scent of smoke at first, he described, as it began leaking into the room. Without thinking, he jumped up and ran—leaving behind his glasses, his phone, and all his belongings. By the time he reached the stairs, the fire had spread. He sprinted down blindly, barely making it out before the building became an inferno. For the next hour, he couldn’t stop coughing from the thick smoke he had inhaled.
He lost everything in the fire—except, miraculously, his tefillin. And with Shabbos already in full swing in Israel, the only way to tell his parents he was alive was by leaving them a voice note on WhatsApp, hoping they would hear it later.
Now, four bochurim remain hospitalized, one still in critical condition. They’ve lost their passports and their belongings, One was meant to fly back to Israel this Wednesday, but without documents, those plans are now uncertain.
Photos of the brownstone the day after show an entirely gutted home, with the walls, furniture, and belongings destroyed.
The community has stepped up, donating clothing, shoes, and coats. The Vaad Hatmimim’s Tomchei Bochurim is working to provide clothing, essentials, and anything else the bochurim need to begin rebuilding.
Tehillim is still urgently needed for:
Shmuel ben Devorah Leah
Shmuel ben Meirav
Hallel ben Hila Feiga
Baruch Yehuda ben Yehudis
A campaign has been launched to help the victims, who lost all their belongings, including tefillin, passports, money and clothes.
Please help them to buy the minimum of clothing and necessities in the midst of a cold and snowy winter.
רפואה שלמה
Shmuel ben Devorah Leah
Shmuel ben Meirav
Hillel ben Sarah
Yehudah ben Sarah
Hillel ben Hila
Baruch Yehuda ben Yehudis
רפואה שלמה
ATTENTION ALL JEWISH BUILDINGS WHOM HAVE METAL BARS ON YOUR WINDOWS
REMOVE YOUR METAL BARS IMMEDIATELY AND GET YOUR BUILDING UP TO FIRE CODE NOW
If the situation was that an intruder came in and there was no bars on the window there would be outrage. There is no right solution. I personally put bars on my apartment window because the fire escape stairs were connected to the apartment above me. My wife did not feel safe knowing there were rowdy teens upstairs.
Its against the law to have bars on the windows that cant be opened from inside
There are bars for windows that can be opened from inside or have a key!
You don’t have to compromise.
You can get fire safe window guards that can be opened from the inside in case of emergency.
Yes, I have fire safe guards on the windows. No problem opening the bars from the inside. The problem is that I can’t open the windows. If I call maintenance, a man us sent to check it. Of course, he has no problem opening the windows, but that doesn’t mean I can do it.
PLEASE DO A MITZVA TODAY so these young boys can heal! Hashem the master healer should help them all heal physically and emotionally.
????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ALL JEWISH INSTITUTIONS BETTER INSTALL FIRE ALARMS, SMOKE DETECTORS, AND ALL OTHER NECESSARY FIRE PREVENTION THINGS NOW TODAY.
So babies don’t fall out
You can have one with a bar to open, what abt a fire!? This is crazy!
This was a private rental to working single guys.
כמה שטויות במשפט אחד בחורים שהגיעו עצמאית לשנה ללמוד ב770
You are missing my point. Saying it was a dorm for 770 implies there is a duty of care from the hanhola, and is misleading, leading to criticism of the 770 hanhola etc who had nothing to do with the lodging of these boys.
This was a private rental, the landlord is accountable.
Working smoke detectors?
A wake-up call to everyone!
the smoke detectors were in good shape and tested the month before. So it is a mystery why they didn’t hear it.
It’s time for dorms to be properly wired with smoke detectors. Not just the cheap ones with batteries, but the full building systems. Everyone knows this is a problem, and now a Bochur is severely injured in the hospital. We need to spend the money.
This was a private rental to working single guys.
this was not a dorm. it was a house rented by many bochurim together .
it’s not a dorm, it’s an apartment that a few working bochurim rented
It’s a miracle anyone got out alive! BH
Especially for fire escape windows you can buy legal bars. – these are easily opened from inside for safety, but can’t be open from the outside. They can also be installed on regular windows. For the person whose wife is scared of the neighbors- be more scared of your apartment turning into a death trap.
Sprinkler systems are now standard for dormitories. Not having a system of interconnected smoke detectors both in the hallways and inside every single bedroom however is criminal. Who allowed such a situation to continue? If it was the Hanholah, they have proven themselves incapable of managing the Bochrim’s accommodations. They must immediately hire professional property and/or fire safety managers to keep them from killing R”L the Bochrim in their care!!! Now!!!
This was a regular house where bochurim were staying.
This was a short term rental rented by older single bochurim. No hanhala officially in charge of them…
After all they are just kids, make Shalom & Ahavas Yisroel in CH. Refua Sheima
Any updates on the boys health condition?
If known cause of fire, might help to learn what NOT to do ? If caused by a plug in heater, what type of heater was it? Was it from a gas stove?
Why are we putting these precious lives at risk???
I had a brake in my house and I put bars on . I feel .much safer with bars on my window we have a key near the window to open the bars
There are legal bars that open from the inside but not outside.
NO ONE SHOULD USE BARS ON WINDOWS THAT DONT OPEN FROM INSIDE. ALSO ITS AGAINST THE LAW
I usually never post ( or even read) website comments, but cannot be quiet here, this house was a tragedy waiting to happen: This was an awful house in CH being advertised as a short-term rental property in great location. Thinking it was a normal airbnb-type accommodation for our large family, we paid the multiple 4-digit fee and came there to stay from our mokom hashlichus overseas when we came for my son’s chassuna this past spring. The owner should be jailed, she knew very, very well that it wasn’t safe to stay there even temporarily. When we first arrived,… Read more »
What’s the address please so we know or where are the other locations?
658 eastern parkway
I think they mean it was the house that burnt down.
Address is 658 eastern pkwy
This is a fascinating insight
The fire department will do an investigation and if evidence of criminality is found, the owners may face serious charges.
The owner of this building needs to be held accountable!
Don’t keep it a secret. Who owns the house? She should be sued.
You can double check with your rabbi if you can say this. But we would appreciate to be aware of their name so we know not to use them
Hoping that the Bochrim in the hospital were given Rebbe dollars!
more importantly, were mezuzos and tfillin checked?
Im pretty sure the Teffilin and mezuzos were burnt to a crisp
Fires can happen from a number of faulty conditions
(e.g. heater too close to flammable materials, faulty appliances, stoves, ovens, electrical errors, etc.)
Here is an electrical wiring problem to beware of, because it can be overlooked easy. So, if the line is rated for 20 amps, and the fuse or breaker is correct, in theory, you can plug in a number of appliances, as long as they don’t exceed 20 amps. But be sure that the outlet is also rated for 20 amps; most are 15.
This is why many electricians are called in because the outlets are burned!
Bar entrances to dorms, businesses, and rentals until they have proper smoke alarms.
The hayom yom for Friday was “G‑dliness is a flame of fire. Learning Torah and davening must be with a blazing heart, that “all my bones may utter” the words of G‑d in Torah and prayer” . The bochurim’s names are Yehuda and Hillel which mean praise and Shmuel which means Hashem has heard. We should make a hachlotah for the bochurim’s sakes to daven with a ‘brin’. May they all have a refuah shlaima.
Who is the owner of the property?
I recommend keeping a fire extinguisher in every room and having smoke alarms in every room to stay safe and prevent a catastrophe like what happened recently in Crown Heights. People also shouldn’t use space heaters in the winter because they are very dangerous.