Explosion in 770
At around 11:45pm on Motzoai Shabbos an explosion went off inside the closet which houses the electrical circuits for most of 770 including those for the air conditioners. What happened was an electrician was there changing the breakers for the air conditioner of the front part of 770 when one of the gabboyim decided to ‘clean’ the wire contacts.
The electrician told him not to while another man there made a crack about taking a picture of him before he is no more, and everyone exited the room when the bang went off. Hatzalah was called in a CODE 1 which is generally what someone who isn’t breathing or is suffering a heart attack is called for, the gabbay walked out of the room himself, was conscious and was able to see. His yarmulke and glasses melted right off his face.
More pictures in the Extended Article.
He was rushed to The Cornell Burn Center where he was listed in stable condition with second degree burns to his face and right hand.
Due to the explosion there was no Air Conditioning in the front part of 770 for Silchos.
Dave
B"H
Thankfully, no one was badly hurt….. It could have been much much worse…
However, this could be the inspiration for a new horror movie which could be entitled, "Jews With Tools!"
Seriously though, if someone doesn’t know the danger associated with electricity, he/she should stick with flashlight batteries and leave the other stuff to the professionals (ie. electricians).
victim of a burn
2nd degree burn….scary!! burns can be very dangerous and life threatening- scars also take lots of time to heal….good luck!
OT Bochur
Today downstairs in 770 at about 5:30pm the light went off for a few minutes. i think the Israelis enjoyed it, "more action."
Toshav Hashchuna Agbag
say tehillim for zalman , he is a baal mesiras nefesh , always available to keep 770 running at 24-7 in all weather and conditions.
he keeps tabs who is in town to give an aliyoh , he knows the personalities , he is mechabed es kol haodom Besever ponim yofos , always will be there when help is needed
We need him back !!
a fellow crown heightser
yes i agree, we should all say tehillim, that hashem should bless him with a full and speedy recovery. He is a real asset to our community.
He should not have to suffer
Refuah Sheleima!
BrookAve
I thought that boom sound was from a crock of chulent that someone forgot to take out on Shabbos! Chulent can be mighty dangerous.
how?
How do you write such reporting about a person who is terribly burnt and hurt?
Justice
This is sick….how do you write such a thing about a guy who is going through hell and back?!?!?! Before Rosh Hashana you should ask forgiveness and ask Hashem for Mechila. If i were you i would take it down and rewrite the true story…that the electrician said it was fine to touch it and then hell broke loose!
baffeled
why is a plumer messing with electricity ?
Anonymous
Justice, that is a blatant lie! While I feel bad for the victim, this isn’t his first time getting burned like this. VD”L.
Everyone there was warning him not to touch it, they even left the room before he touched anything since they foresaw this happening. He brushed live contacts with a metal brush!
zalman
sry to all of u but this story is true to every word and every detail
he is a great guy and helps lots of people but this is a lesson for him and for everyone else to learn from his mistake
DONT THINK YOU KNOW BETTER
HE IS A GUY WHO ALWAYS THINKS HE KNOWS BETTER AND KNOWS WHATS RIGHT AND NOW LOOK AT HIM
zalman we all love u and pray for u to have a full recovery but the way you act in the shcuna must change vdal
770 bochur
the truth must be told
why is everyone going crazy
this is a news website which means if you want news u come here
if you guys dont want to read this news dont click on this website
YS
He made a big mistake! But…don’t we all?! (at least sometimes?!)
Hashem should grant him a FULL refuah shlaima, together with a Ksiva Vachasima Tovah L’Shana Tova Umesuka!
to: Toshav Hashchuna Agbag wrote:
to: Toshav Hashchuna Agbag wrote:
say tehillim for zalman = YES I AGREE WE SHOULD SAY TEHILIM THAT HE THINKS BEFORE HE DOES THINGS NOT ONLY IN THIS WAY BUT IN EVERYTHING ELSE HE IS DOING ….
he is a baal mesiras nefesh = ??????? NOT SURE WHAT U MEAN MAYBE TO FIGHT MERKOS
OR MAYBE HE PICKED UP THE PRICE OF THE SEATS IN THE SHUL THIS TISHREI ANOTHER 50 DOLLARS SO HE CAN FIGHT MERKOS IN COURT U BET HUGE MESIRAS NEFESH.
always available to keep 770 running at 24-7 in all weather and conditions = FOR THE ISRAELIS MAKING SURE THEY HAVE WHAT THEY NEED TO THROW OTHERS OUT OF THE SHUL
he keeps tabs who is in town to give an aliyoh , he knows the personalities = OF COURSE AND LETS NOT FORGET HE MAKES SURE WHO NOT TO GIVE A ALIYAH TO
he is mechabed es kol haodom Besever ponim yofos= ? REALLY? THIS IS BREAKING NEWS! ,
We need him back !! = IF NOT WHO WILL FIGHT ON ? AND RIP OFF THE COMMUNITY FOR FUNDS SO HE CAN BE A GABAI
Justice
Well Webby, it happens to be that i was present at the time the electrician (Hecht) bluntly told Zalmen L. that it was safe to do what he did. Now the electrician is going around telling everyone that he told him not to, for his reputation! Think about it…if the electrician told everyone it was his fault then none would trust him! And again i was there when the ordeal happened. So be carefull what you post on your website so that the people don’t get the wrong story!
to: justice..
to: Justice… so why not put your name
to Justice wrote
to justtice
maybe u should say your name because i was there as well and hecht said if u do it im leaving the room and he went out, he told him NOT to do what he did but hecht put the AC in 770 and knows what hes doing zalman thought hes a smart guy and will do what he wants not he learned his lesson
what webby wrote is true EVERY WORD
Iim not a big fan of webbys website but this time he is just saying the news as is
moish
nobody should put the blame on anyone
zalman did this to himself
he made a mistake and he will fix it
sick to put the blame on hecht or anyone else
nobody told him to do it in fact he was told not to!!!!
long time resident
Zalman is not a bad guy but he should stick his nose where it belongs , in pulming , not in electricity and running a Shul !
Itzik_s
Things like this happen with electricity. He should have a refuah sheleima and a gut gebensched yohr. That is the bottom line.
Still, whichever way it happened, cleaning electrical contacts with a metal brush is not safe, to put it mildly. Many of us enjoy repairing things and often play around with electricity in emergencies; one should be very careful to turn off the power at the source when doing any sort of electrical repair.
I was witness to a near tragedy where a shaliach in Europe nearly got a 220 volt shock while adjusting some lighting because some yukel told him the power was off at the circuit breaker when it was not.
Eliezer
how do his glasses melt off (that would take at least 1000 degrees) and his beard doesnt (i saw him come out, his beard was all there). unless it flew off, and SOMEONE decided to spice up the story, and say that it melted off.
Dave
B"H
Never thought I would post two messages……
Its pointless to argue whose story is correct and whose isn’t. The bottom line is that thank G-d the man wasn’t killed and will hopefully make a full and complete recovery.
It would be a better use of our energy and imagination to think of ways to prevent this from happening again. We were lucky ONCE…. Who knows what will happen the next time?
In the mean time I suggest that a big yellow sign with BIG letters in Hebrew and English be posted on the door and inside the equipment room stating that, "NO ONE EXCEPT A LICENSED ELECTRICIAN IS PERMITTED IN THIS ROOM WHEN THE PANELS ARE REMOVED FROM THE CIRCUIT BREAKER BOXES – NO EXCEPTIONS!"
Sounds like a good way to avoid having to say
Kaddish….
izzy c
I think this is the typical case that there is nobody to blame,bad things happen. hwever we should all know ZALMAN IS A AMAZING INDIVIDUAL ,THAT DOES AMAZING WORK FOR THE SHULL ,THIS IS JUST A EXAMPLE ,,IF NOT FOR THIS YOU WOULD NOT HAVE EVEN KNOWN ,HE WAS HELPING OUT IN THE SHULL.may he have a quick and speedily recovery that he may continue his avodas hakodesh in the rebbes shul in the time when he is needed the most during tishrei,
EXCUSE ME!!
excuse-if everyone including the electrician himself is saying he said not to, obviosly they are saying the truth!! even "zalman" said so and he was there!!
plus i dont think you should be naming names that were purposelly left out, so that those of us who didnt know who it was, didnt have to hear motzei shame rah that you are saying about them!!! (ie the name of the elecrtition
Yossy Hecht
To “Justice”, who are you and what are you talking about? Do you just make up this stuff when you weren’t even there and post it as if you know what you’re talking about?
There were only 2 people there with Zalman and I, and unless your name is Y. Hackner, you weren’t even there. I didn’t say it was okay. I said that if he attempts to do it I’m getting out of there. I went completely out of the room and hid behind some bookcases. When Y. Hackner saw what I said and did, he went out to the doorway of the room. If Y. Hackner and the other Bochur that was with us in the room hadn’t listened to me, they would have been injured by the Arc Flash too! (Just ask Yonnason Hackner!)
B”H The injuries weren’t more severe. Zalman’s hand suffered 2nd degree burns, but thank G-D not his face. He was very lucky that his glasses saved his eyes. All things considered, the Rebbe is looking out for us.
Devorah
Hiking up prices for seats is normal. How else would you expect to maintain the shul? Part of life and living in a free market means, price increase. Basic economics.
Fighting Merkos? He is fighting for YOU, so that 770 should be available for you, as a chasid, living in the Rebbe’s schechuna. The irony is now Zalman can sue Merkoz…that would be a scene out of Court TV.
He pokes his nose because he cares. If you don’t like the way he handles his job, do it yourself. You can’t please everyone all the time, but the job needs to get done and Zalman does just that.
Bottom line is this is by far the most insensitive reporting. So much for making it as a reputable journalist in this lifetime.