By Daniel Katzive
A fire at the Yeshiva Ketana of Manhattan on Riverside Drive at 89th Street forced a quick evacuation of students and staff Wednesday afternoon. No injuries were reported.
According to the FDNY, the call was received at 2:44pm. Twelve units and 60 firefighters responded to what turned out to be a fire in the walls on the first floor of the building. The fire was reported under control at 3:40pm.
A parent of three children at the school, who was in the building volunteering at the time of the fire, said she just saw smoke. She praised school faculty and staff for evacuating all the children quickly and efficiently, adding that everyone was safely out of the building within minutes. The fire broke out just before dismissal time.
The Yeshiva occupies the Isaac L. Rice Mansion, a former residence built in the early years of the 20th century, located diagonally across Riverside Drive from the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. According to Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics web site, the private Jewish boys school had 120 students ranging from pre-kindergarten to 8th grade in the 2019-2020 school year.