The young Haredi man confessed during his interrogation: I set fire to the residential buildings in Romema

December 3, 2020   

The 20-year-old ultra-Orthodox youth, who was arrested last Thursday on suspicion of setting fire to several buildings and a bus - admitted yesterday (Wednesday) during interrogation to also setting fire to a building complex on Sorotzkin Street in the Romema neighborhood of Jerusalem, on Tuesday of last week, leading to a fire that almost ended in a major disaster.

Just so you know: If you miss this crazy opportunity, you'll be a sucker.  Chat or phone: Why don't 'Maccabi' members have to run to the emergency room for everything?  Today his detention was extended. As a reminder, 11 people were slightly and seriously injured in a fire that broke out in the building complex, after the fire broke out in the parking lot shared by two five-story residential buildings. The injured were treated at the scene, and later 6 of them were evacuated to Shaare Zedek Hospital and Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital.

The fire set fire to dozens of vehicles and warehouses, and fire and smoke spread to six buildings on the street. Dozens of residents were rescued from the flames and homes were damaged.

Fire and Rescue investigators from the Ha'oma station, who led the investigation of the incident, told Kan News: "The investigation into the fire on Sorotkin Street was a complex and not simple investigation. The heavy damage caused by the fire, the complex firefighting operations, and other factors in the field, made the investigation difficult. However, the extensive experience of the fire investigators, as well as the excellent and particularly close cooperation with the Israel Police and the investigators of the Fire and Rescue Department, helped us reach the conclusions that this severe fire started as a result of arson.".

The young man was arrested after four arson attacks occurred in the Romema neighborhood last Thursday, in less than three and a half hours: • At 9:30 PM, 6 fire and rescue teams were dispatched to a fire in an electrical cabinet located on the first floor of a 5-story building on 9 Sorotskin Street in the Romema neighborhood. As a result of the fire and smoke, several residents were trapped in their homes and were rescued by firefighters with the assistance of Jerusalem Police officers. In parallel with the rescue operations, the teams worked to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to the entire building. A report from the teams on the ground also stated that several children inhaled smoke and two of them needed to be evacuated to the hospital, in a minor condition. • At 23:57, 3 fire and rescue teams were dispatched to Grossberg Street following a report of a bus fire. The firefighters, who arrived on the scene in a short time, quickly took control of the fire and prevented all the vehicles from burning and the fire from spreading to nearby vehicles. • At 0:05, while extinguishing the burning bus, the teams were dispatched to another fire in a building on nearby Eli HaCohen Street. The teams that arrived on the scene noticed a fire in an electrical cabinet that, fortunately, did not develop into a significant fire, and the firefighters extinguished it in a short time without casualties or significant damage to the building. • At 0:50, 6 fire and rescue teams were dispatched to a fire at the entrance to the building on Yosef Ziv Street. The firefighters, who arrived on the scene in a short time, noticed a developed fire and a lot of smoke spreading up the building, trapping the residents living in the building inside their apartments. During a hearing to extend the young man's detention, the police representative said that he was located in the area, "and told one of the officers that he was filming the arson in order to upload it to a WhatsApp group of reports. He refused to be detained and began to go on a rampage and attack the officers until the YSM officers arrived. In his first interrogation, he denied it and was then questioned again, then broke down and confessed to the charges against him, detailing a series of arsons he committed that night. He replied that he suffers from a problem with arsons.".