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Fire Destroys New York
Sikh Temple Library

The 15,000-book library at the Sikh Culture Society two-story temple in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York City, was virtually destroyed in an early-morning fire March 8 that injured six visiting priests from India, two of them critically, and two firefighters.

Sixteen holy books were salvaged in the fire that collapsed the roof of the 109-year-old former Methodist church building, blew out windows, and gutted the interior. More than 130 firefighters battled the blaze, which took nearly four hours to bring under control.

Fire investigators ruled out arson or a bias attack, suggesting the inferno may have resulted from a gas leak. “The chief told me there’s no reason to believe there’s anything suspicious,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in the March 9 New York Daily News. “Now we have to make sure that the Sikh community can go about taking care of their flock.”

The temple, which serves as many as 2,500 worshippers on weekends and 10,000 during holidays, plans to use a two-story house it owns next door as a temporary location.

Posted March 18, 2002.

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