New Square home engulfed by flames

House of rebbe's son in flames as questions arise over fire's origin and recent factional fighting and its related vandalism.NEW SQUARE — Volunteer firefighters were battling a raging house fire tonight on Truman Avenue off Washington Avenue, the village's main access road. No injuries were reported.

A billowing cloud of dark gray smoke covered the neighborhood as bright red flames shot from the two-story house at 12 Truman Ave., near Eisenhower Avenue. The smoke was visible from the Palisades Interstate Parkway.
The fire ate away at the house, destroying the structure while the intense heat melted the siding. Some walls were gutted and holes were seen in the roof.
The fire was reported before 6:08 p.m.

The Hasidic Jewish village's streets were crowded with hundreds of people, as the Ramapo police and New Square emergency services kept them back.
Young children climbed onto construction rafters to get a better view as firefighters poured water on the two-story house.
With the house seemingly destroyed, John Kryger, a deputy fire coordinator for Rockland Fire and Emergency Services, said the firefighters "main job is to keeping the fire from spreading to nearby homes."
New Square has high-density houses with many homes close to one another.
The Hillcrest Fire Department volunteers took the lead in battling the fire.
Along with the Hillcrest firefighters, the Spring Valley and New City fire departments sent pumper trucks to the scene. The Monsey Fire Department sent firefighters and its FAST team to enter the house as a precaution.
Assembled on Route 45 in case they were needed were volunteers with departments from Nanuet, Thiells, Suffern and Hillburn, Kryger said.
Hatzolah and Spring Hill ambulance corps were on the scene. Kryger said no firefighters were reported hurt and he was unsure if anyone was in the house when the fire erupted.
The fire is believed to have started near the side of the house by a sukkah, a hut-like structure.
The fire during the celebration and prayers for the Jewish new year of Rosh Hashanah came two days after five cars were vandalized while people prayed at a nearby senior center in what has been described as ongoing friction between a group of residents and the community's leadership.