Blaze damages Overbrook Farms synagogue
City fire investigators are trying to determine what sparked an early-morning blaze that damaged an orthodox synagogue in Overbrook Farms.
A blaze sparked by faulty electrical wiring seriously damaged an orthodox synagogue in Overbrook Farms early this morning.
The blaze was reported at 12:44 a.m. at Raim Ahuvim, which is housed in a three-story, stone mansion on Drexel Road near 59th Street, said Capt. Jeffrey Thompson, a fire spokesman. Firefighters had the fire under control in 36 minutes, Thompson said.
Rabbi Harvey Gornish and Rabbi Aryeh Botwinick, who share leadership of the congregation, couldn't be reached for comment. But Marvin Gornish, the congregation's president, "unofficially" estimated damages at at least $100,000. Thompson said electrical wiring in the mansion's roof and ceiling areas ignited the blaze.
Marvin Gornish said the congregation had shrunk so much in recent years - it has only about six active members - that members didn't carry fire insurance because it cost too much. "I don't know what we're going to do with the building," he said. "To rebuild, to me, is silly, because there's not enough people. (The active members) are older men living on Social Security, and we couldn't afford it."
The congregation dates back to 1892, said Sarah Sherman, the archivist for the Philadelphia Jewish Archives. Marvin Gornish said it moved to its current location in 1958. The congregation has been in his family since its inception, prompting its nickname "the Gornish shul." (Shul is a Yiddish word for synagogue.)