Adass Israel welcomes firefighters at Lag b’Omer

The Adass Israel community welcomed firefighters who responded to last December’s firebombing of their shul as special guests at their Lag b’Omer celebrations in Elsternwick on Thursday night.

Several hundred community members gathered to sing and dance around the traditional bonfire, with firefighters from Fire Rescue Victoria not only attending but joining in the celebrations.

Adass Israel community member Chayim Klein told The AJN the invitation was extended as a gesture of gratitude to the emergency services personnel who responded to the December 6 attack.

“We’re very privileged and honoured. The firefighters, among the other emergency personnel, did a phenomenal job on December 6. We’re forever grateful to them and for everybody,” Klein said.

“We thought tonight was a good opportunity to invite them, celebrate with them, show them our community in happy times and let them see us celebrate with fire.”

The significance of the event was heightened as it marked the community’s first celebration with music since Pesach, with Klein describing Lag b’Omer as “a very holy day” that the community enjoys for “the significance of it and the holiness of it.”

Acting Assistant Chief Fire Officer Brayden Sinnamon, who led the firefighting response to the December attack and the delegation at Thursday’s celebration, expressed appreciation for the warm welcome.

“Everyone here today was at the [firebombing] incident. I was the controller. We have the safety officer, operations officer, and the crew who were first to turn up,” Sinnamon said.

“It’s fantastic to see such a community rally together. The support was phenomenal. It’s so good to see the support they give each other and how they all rally behind each other.”

Sinnamon, described the experience as unprecedented.

“We got welcomed here today as part of the community. We got to experience an event and feel like we’re part of it,” he said.

“The energy of everyone is phenomenal. Even the kids never stopped. It’s just a phenomenal experience to be a part of. I haven’t seen anything like this, and it was great to be part of such a good community.”

The celebration came five months after the December 6 attack when the synagogue was firebombed, with Klein noting that during the event they “reminisced with them about saving the Torah scrolls and ensuring that they were safe.”

“These were the frontline workers on the day, some were commanders in senior positions, some were the actual fieries that went into the blaze,” Klein said.

“And we’re just grateful they came, and we had an opportunity to express our appreciation to them.”