Seven motorcycles caught fire early this morning (Monday), around 3:20 AM, in the courtyard of a five-story building on Zvi Harling Street in Bnei Brak.
As a result, 46 people were slightly injured from smoke inhalation from the fire, and a young man in his twenties was moderately injured.
The injured were evacuated to Ichilov, Mayanei Hayeshua, Beilinson, Schneider and Sheba hospitals.
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
MDA paramedic Inbar Green and paramedic from the MDA motorcycle unit Issachar Weiss: "We saw thick smoke in the building's courtyard, the smoke penetrated the apartments and the stairwell, men, women and children were rescued from the apartments, we deployed MDA medical forces to the area and conducted initial triage of the injured. A man in his twenties suffered from smoke inhalation and needed respiratory assistance, we provided him with medical treatment and evacuated him to a hospital in moderate condition and fully conscious. 47 additional victims of smoke inhalation were evacuated from the scene, all fully conscious and in a mild condition.".
Ariel Englerd and Akiva Kaufman, senior paramedics at the United Hatzalah: "The injured inhaled a lot of smoke due to a fire that broke out under the building and spread to the rest of the building. We provided some of them with medical assistance at the scene, which included administering oxygen, and then they were evacuated to several hospitals in the area, and at this stage their condition is defined as moderate to mild.".
Ze'evi Fishman and Gudi Goldberg, United Hatzalah paramedics: "We provided medical assistance at the scene to 12 victims. A 70-year-old couple, a 7-year-old child, and nine family members - a 45-year-old mother, her seven children aged 3-20, and a two-month-old baby - who were slightly injured as a result of smoke inhalation, after which they were evacuated in United Hatzalah ambulances to Mayanei Hayeshua Hospital and Schneider Medical Center. Reinforced firefighting teams were operating at the scene due to the nature of the fire.".
[gallery]
The Bnei Brak Fire Department reported that at 3:19 a.m., several reports were received at the 102 district hotline about thick smoke in a residential building on Zvi Harling Street in Bnei Brak.
The building's residents reported that smoke, originating from the building's parking lot, entered their apartments.
The operation officials at the District Administration instructed the residents to lock themselves in their apartments and seal the entrance to the door with a wet rag.
Three teams under the command of the shift commander, Reshef Mor Shishitsky, arrived at the scene and identified that it was a vehicle fire under a 5-story building and heavy smoke was enveloping the structure. The firefighters rushed to the scene and immediately began extinguishing the fire using foam hoses, as well as searching and rescuing trapped people from the apartments and heat and smoke release operations.
Additional fire crews from the district stations were dispatched to the scene to assist in searching the building and locating victims.
A joint search operation was opened at the scene with the police and verification began regarding the number of residents in the building. The residents on the first floors were rescued from their apartments, some from the stairwell and some using a ladder from the balconies.
Other residents whose apartments were smoke-free were instructed to stay indoors.
A fire investigator was called in to examine the circumstances surrounding the fire.
