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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Georgia Bates and Michael Howie

Moment Jewish charity ambulance explodes creating huge fireball in terrifying arson attack

Dramatic new footage shows the moment an ambulance exploded after it was set alight in an arson attack in north London.

The video shows the vehicle on fire with smoke billowing above while firefighters use hoses to spray water on it in an attempt to put it out.

The footage, taken in the early hours of Monday morning, shows the vehicle blow up – with orange and pink flames flashing into the air.

Scotland Yard has said that the incident in Golders Green is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime but not as terrorism.

Firefighters attempting to put the blaze out appear to step back as the ambulance explodes, the video shows.

The blaze occurred right next to the Machzike Hadath Synagogue.

On Tuesday, its president Damon Hoff told the Press Association that the damage to the inside of the building is “surprisingly” limited.

Mr Hoff praised the quick work of the emergency services who arrived at the scene within minutes.

He said: “Surprisingly, the internal damage is very limited.

“There’s substantial damage from the fire on the external, there’s substantial damage on the ceiling, there will be more basement damage.”

Aerial pictures shows the four destroyed ambulances in Golders Green, north London (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Mr Hoff said that some of the stained glass windows might need replacing.

He said the synagogue was open on Tuesday, adding: “We prayed this morning.”

Yared Santa Ana, 44, lives in the house opposite to where the four ambulances were set on fire.

The mother-of-two told PA she was woken up by her dog at around 1.40am on Monday.

She said: “I stared through the window because I heard some noises and I saw the fire, mostly in the ambulance.

“I saw a person calling the fireman and so I was like, okay… I didn’t go outside.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis speaking to the media at the scene in Highfield Road (Jonathan Brady/PA)

“I started to hear the explosion of the oxygen tanks.”

Ms Santa Ana said the noise of the explosion was “quite loud”, and “you could feel it in the structure”.

She said the commotion lasted for around two hours, adding that the situation seemed to be “in control”.

She added: “At first, I was just wondering if they would tell us to evacuate – especially as I have two small kids.”

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