Synagogue member says several congregants were inside praying when the blaze began

An Adass Israel Synagogue board member in the southeast Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea says a few congregants were sitting and praying inside when the fire started.

“They heard loud banging,” Benjamin Klein tells AFP.

Liquid had been poured inside the synagogue and it was set alight, he says.

“If this had happened an hour later, there would have been hundreds of people inside,” Klein says.

The congregants “ran out the back of the synagogue. One man who ran out — his hand got burnt,” he says.

“The fire was extensive,” he tells AFP. “Inside is completely gutted.”

Holy books and furniture had been destroyed, he says, vowing that the community will “rebuild.”

Klein says the synagogue had increased security over the past 12 months following safety concerns but did not provide further details.