Forty-four Israeli people were injured Tuesday morning after a fire broke out at an apartment block in Be'er Ya'akov in Central Israel. According to the commander of the firefighting team that arrived at the scene, the fire broke out overnight after an electronic scooter by the building was set alight. The fire then spread to equipment located in the stairwell of the four-story residential building, and crept up to the top floor. Firefighters arrived at the scene along with dozens of Magen David Adom ambulances, who evacuated injured residents to nearby hospitals. Most of the residents injured in the fire suffered from smoke inhalation, while others were hurt after they escaped by jumping out of the building. Twenty people suffered light injuries and are expected to be released from hospital soon.Two people were critically injured and the rest were moderately injured. Be'er Ya'akov mayor, Nissim Gozlan, who arrived at the scene to console the residents, said it was thanks to the efficiency of the rescue services that the fire did not end with a catastrophe. "It was only thanks to the fast operations of the rescue services that arrived at the scene that everything ended as it did, but there could have been a tragedy here. We will ensure the building is renovated and residents are assisted with the belongings burnt in the fire," he said, adding, "We had a lot of luck overnight."
