Central Israeli synagogue badly damaged in blaze

Hebrew media reports suggest fire in Lod was caused by malfunctioning refrigerator, not arson

A synagogue in the central Israeli city of Lod was badly damaged in a fire Friday morning, apparently due to a malfunctioning refrigerator, the Ynet news site reported.

The blaze was brought under control by firefighters, but not before the building had sustained serious damage.

There were no injuries reported.

A British consumer group investigation in April found the backing material on almost half the refrigerators they inspected were made of unsafe plastic, and recommended that many models be removed from sale as they not only pose a fire risk, but could also potentially aid the speed at which a fire could spread.

The catastrophic blaze at London’s Grenfell Tower last June started when a fridge-freezer caught fire. At least 72 people were killed and over 70 injured when the 24-storey building went up in flames.