Eighteen-year-old Thomas A. Ruppert, charged with setting the Yonkers Jewish Community Center afire, claiming 12 lives during a Chanukah celebration on December 20, 1965, went on trial today in the County court.
The fire, described by the Yonkers police chief as the worst in the city’s history, resulted in the death of nine children and three adults. The flames broke out suddenly when a class of children was taking music lessons on the fourth floor of the center. Most of the 100 children in the building were led to safety along ledges four stories above the ground, until they reached firemen’s ladders.
Among the victims were three sets of brothers and sisters, aged 7 to 11. Nine other persons were injured in the blaze, including four who were hospitalized. The victims all apparently died from smoke poisoning.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
