'Rogue' firefighting unit in Ramapo worries officials. 'A very dangerous situation'

RAMAPO -- A firefighting unit, backed by local rabbis, has set off alarms for fire departments and government officials concerned about a possible lack of training that could endanger residents and property.

Matzilei Aish, which reportedly has about 34 members, is moving onto the turf of the Monsey Fire Department and other departments covering various Ramapo villages. Matzilei Aish leaders are looking to serve Orthodox Jewish and Hasidic communities and have been encouraging residents through advertisements and word of mouth to call their emergency number instead of 911, officials said.

Officials are raising concerns about group members' training and experience, and whether the group will report its activities to the police and state. Not doing so could cause insurance reimbursement issues for residents who suffer fire property damage.

“This is a rogue fire department that needs to be brought to task,” Rockland County Sheriff Lou Falco said. “If they want to join a fire department, that is what they should do. We don’t know the abilities of this rogue fire department."

It's difficult to measure how active Matzilei Aish has been. Rockland County Fire and Emergency Coordinator Chris Kear said Matzilei Aish members started responding to fires a few years ago in Monsey and the Spring Valley area in their private vehicles with extinguishers.

Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann said he's checked with town fire chiefs and police and they are unaware of any Matzilei Aish activity yet in town

Officials noted Matzilei Aish members aren't participating in continuous training programs provided by the Rockland Fire Training Center. They said the unit's members have reportedly gone through basic Firefighter 1 classes at the Bergen County Law and Public Safety Institute.

Making insurance claims could prove difficult without appropriate records. Falco and other officials said Matzilei Aish has not provided training certification or other credentials to the state or anything “sanctioned by the system that ensures the insurer that fire damage actually occurred and was properly handled."

Rockland fire coordinator warns officials, state agencies

Kear recently wrote Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht and County Executive Ed Day about Matzilei Aish operations in Ramapo.

Kear said the group has bought a used ladder truck and is looking to expand into communities with large Orthodox Jewish populations, like Wesley Hills, New Hempstead, Airmont, Chestnut Ridge, and areas of New City in Clarkstown.

"They have publicly and privately encouraged residents to call them directly, and not to call 911," Kear wrote. "In addition, they have been advertising their intent to expand into additional geographical locations ... With the new addition of a ladder truck and their intent to expand, the potential of a very dangerous situation continues to grow."

Kear said he and other fire chiefs are concerned a "rogue and dysfunctional group such as this - which lack any real firefighting and emergency service-related experience - will involve themselves in a situation that will turn disastrous and or even deadly."

Kear said he contacted the Bergen training unit in 2023 and got the brush off. A response letter from the Bergen facility's attorney stated: "The LPSI is currently providing fire brigade training only to the organization you identified in your letter. It would be inappropriate, and perhaps illegal, for the LPSI to deny training to any one organization or individual."

Kear said he's communicated with New York State Attorney General Letitia James' Office and the New York State Department of Labor Public Employee Safety and Health unit, known as PESH. He said James' office claims an investigation into Matzilei Aish continues.

James' office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman for the Labor Department's PESH unit said Thursday that Matzilei Aish does not fall under the agency's purview.

Ramapo's Specht: 'Call 911 in the event of any fire'

Specht said Ramapo has no connection to Matzilei Aish, a private nonprofit organization.

"The town does not support this organization, either financially or in any other way," Specht said. "We urge all residents to call 911 in the event of any fire or related emergency situation. No tax dollars are given to this entity from the town of Ramapo."

Day, the county executive, said that state intervention is necessary to address the situation, but that the Attorney General's Office and PESH have not acted. He said Rockland fire officials and others have been meeting about Matzilei Aish for months.

"There's not been a lack of effort," Day said. "We want this addressed before we have a tragedy. Sending untrained personnel into a fire or emergency risks the lives of people and firefighters."

He said Matzilei Aish members could face arrest if they interfere with a fire department or police.

"We either need the authority through state legislation or the state agencies need to take action," he said. "For whatever reason the state is not."

Matzilei Aish's leader, Rabbi Yehezkel Weiss, a follower of Skver Hasidim based in New Square, could not be immediately reached. A man answering at Matzilei Aish said it was an emergency line and he didn't have a number to reach Weiss.

In an interview with the online publication Shtetl, Weiss said the Matzilei Aish group now has 35 members, but acknowledged the volunteers are not yet fully qualified. Local rabbis, he reportedly said, don’t believe they are ready “to deal with life-threatening situations.”

Weiss also acknowledged that his members can't fight fires inside buildings because they can't wear air-providing helmets due to their beards. The National Fire Protection Association requires firefighters to be clean-shaven to safely wear an air mask.

Kear said he has been sent photos of Matzilei Aishi members fighting fires without the necessary protective gear or air packs. He cited Matzilei Aish's Instagram page.

Monsey chief: Volunteer firefighters caught in the middle

Monsey Fire Chief Hugh Jacobsen said his understanding is Weiss started the separatist group because he didn't like Monsey's Orthodox Jewish firefighters responding to calls on the Sabbath — sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.

Jacobsen said Monsey volunteers have permission from their rabbis to respond to emergencies on the Sabbath and do what it takes to be firefighters.

He noted the predominately Jewish volunteer department has volunteers who span the spectrum of Judaism, from non-religious and Reform to Orthodox and Hasidim. The department also have female volunteers.

Jacobsen also said Weiss first claimed the Monsey department had slow response times, which the chief denied.

Jacobsen said Matzilei Aish has created a minor morale problem for Monsey firefighters, who don't want to have confrontations with their neighbors. He said there have not yet been any confrontations at emergency scenes with Matzilei Aish members, whom he believes monitor their radio calls and refrain from responding.

He said his Monsey volunteers have been harassed by some residents — including being spit at and having rocks thrown at department trucks.

Weiss told Shtetl he condemned the purported harassment and any violence.

George Cich, a Spring Valley Columbian firefighter, said that "sooner or later they will do something wrong and somebody will get hurt, if not killed."

He said he wouldn't trust his firefighter son with Matzilei Aish members. Cich also leads the Rockland Illegal Housing Task Force, which reports substandard housing in violations of fire and safety codes. The task force has raised concerns with the state before about independent fire units like Matzilei Aish.

"I don't know how they will respond if the fire gets too tough," Cich said. "I trust the training at the Rockland County Fire Training Center."

Reporter Nancy Cutler contributed to this report.

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com Twitter: @lohudlegal

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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Ramapo NY Matzilei Aish rogue firefighting unit worries officials