FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A small fire broke out on the roof on Congregation Beth El in Fairfield Thursday afternoon. No injuries or major building damage were reported in the incident.
A natural gas-fed heating unit on the roof of the Fairfield Woods Road synagogue caught fire at about 1:45 p.m. Thursday, causing smoke to enter the main building. Fairfield firefighters shut off the feeding gas line and put out the fire before it spread from the roof, Asst. Chief Scott Bisson said Thursday in a press release.
Students and teachers at Beth El’s religious school were evacuated by the time Fairfield Fire Department crews arrived. None were injured in the fire. Students were released to their parents at the school’s normal dismissal time during the incident.
“The school did an excellent job in exercising their fire evacuation plan, which allowed them to account for each child outside of the school and kept the kids safely away from the school so firefighters could do their work,” Bisson said.
No structural damage was found on the building and the synagogue was cleared for occupancy after the fire was extinguished. The Fairfield Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire, but it is believed to be accidental and weather-related, Bisson said.
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