‘Suspicious’ fire at B’nai Jacob Synagogue now being investigated as arson
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Amid a string of arsons plaguing downtown Bakersfield, the latest one is the former B’nai Jacob Synagogue. The synagogue caught fire twice on Sunday, adding on to the total of arsons in Bakersfield.
“What I’ll tell you right now is our arson unit from Bakersfield Fire Department is in active investigation to determine how the fire started at this location,” said Bryce Patterson, Battalion Chief and lead arson investigator for the Bakersfield Fire Department.
“It’s too early to tell whether it’s arson, but the fire is suspicious. The utilities for this building were taken out over a year ago so the accidental sources are not present.”
Some of the recent fires in vacant buildings has been the Mission Hotel on M Street, Woolworth’s on 19th, Tina Marie’s on 20th, and the abandoned Fountain Plaza on 18th. With the increase in the number of fires, 17 News asked downtown councilman Andrae Gonzales what the city is doing about it.
“I’ve proposed and the city’s adopted is a vacant structure registry. This will require every property owner that owns a vacant structure to actually register the property with the city,” said Gonzales.
Fire that destroyed former home of Great American Antiques becoming too common
Councilman Gonzales believes that this registry does two things: allows the city to track and inspect those properties and creates a framework for the city to talk to adjacent neighbors about the liability of the vacant building being there.
The Bakersfield Fire Department has investigated 336 fires since the beginning of 2024 — 186 were found to be intentionally set. This has led to only 17 arrests; with 10 of those being of homeless people.
Never miss a story: Make KGET.com your homepage
“I think it’s very easy for us to say it the homeless, it’s a homeless problem,” said Gonzales. “There may be some unhoused people that cause some of these fires. What it seems to me though is there is an arsonist and someone who loves to see a fire.”
A community member of B’nai Jacob reached out to KGET and said that the community is saddened by the burning of their old synagogue and highlights the importance of more protection for historical downtown buildings.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17.
