Firefighters battled a five-alarm blaze at a Yeshiva complex in the Town of Thompson in upstate New York Thursday night.
The roughly 270 high-school-aged boys were luckily away from the Jewish educational institution at 168 Gibber Road paying respects to a recently deceased Hasidic leader when the fire occurred shortly after 7 p.m., according to The Times Record-Herald.
A staff member was inside the building at the time of the fire, but was able to get out safety.
The blaze started in the upper floors of the three-story building and quickly spread through dorm rooms, Monticello Fire Chief Marc Friedland told the newspaper.
Firefighters were able to salvage prayer books and other religious items from the smoke and flames.
Flames were in the attic when firefighters arrived and an older portion of the structure was heavily damaged.
"It was a hard fire to fight to fight," Friedland said.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
