Rabbi, wife allegedly among 5 injured in Brooklyn synagogue fire

BROOKLYN - Firefighters battled a fire at Stavnitz Synagogue on 60th Street in Brooklyn Friday morning.

Witnesses said residents were forced to jump from the second floor in order to escape. 

The three-story building is a synagogue on the first floor, with apartments on the second and third floors.

The fire broke out in kitchen around 6:30 a.m. Friday morning, FDNY said.

Two people were critically injured, and three others are in stable condition.  

Scene at Stavnitz synagogue on 60th Street in Brooklyn Friday morning. 

A witness told FOX 5 NY's Linda Schmidt that the rabbi and his wife were among those injured in the fire, but are expected to be alright. 

They were reportedly hanging from the second floor windoww of the building. 

"They were all hanging out the window, the three of them, they were on the ledge of the window," Brooklyn Community Board 12 Chairperson Yidel Perlstein said. 

Fire officials were able to lift the residents down from the window. 

A community board member also said that someone may have left a hot plate plugged in on the second floor, but this has not been confirmed. 

It is unclear how many others were inside the building at the time of the fire.

The city's Department of Buildings said the building currently has an active permit for electrical wiring work inside the building.

DOB also said that the building had outstanding violations that were issued back in 2017. One was for having the emergency exits blocked in the cellar. Another was for having a rooftop deck without a permit. And a third for having a storage room blocked on the second floor.

At this point, officials say those violations do not appear to have anything to do with the fire.