Woman dies, 18 injured in Kochav Yaakov apartment fire sparked by electric bike
Babies, toddlers and older children among the hurt; medic says parents were seen rescuing children from blaze in West Bank settlement; fire service says charging bike blocked escape route
A woman died and eighteen people were hurt, many of them children, in a fire in a home in the West Bank settlement of Kochav Yaakov in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The Magen David Adom emergency service initially said a woman in her 40s was in critical condition following the blaze.
The death of the woman was later announced by the settlement and she was named as Adina Zahavi.
“The mother of the family, Adina Zahavi together with her husband, rescued the children from their beds and when she turned the last child away she collapsed as a result of smoke inhalation, and then died,” said the settlement of Kochav Ya’akov.
Zahavi’s husband told Hebrew-language media that his “beloved wife acted like a lioness.”
An 8-year-old boy and a man in his 40s were said to be in moderate condition.
Eight children, including babies and toddlers, four teenagers and four young men, were lightly hurt in the fire.
Many of the victims suffered burns or smoke inhalation. They were taken to hospitals in Jerusalem.
A Magen David Adom medic said parents were seen saving the children from the fire.
Israel Fire and Rescue Services said the blaze was caused by an electric bicycle that was being charged in the home.
“We identified that the fire was a result of an electric bicycle, which was still connected to electricity,” the fire service said in a statement.
“The bicycle that caused the fire caused a lot of smoke that spread throughout the entire building,” the statement read. “In addition, the location of the bicycle at the entrance to the building blocked the escape route.”
As two-wheeled electric vehicles have become increasingly popular, there has been a rising number of blazes caused by the batteries, often while they are being charged.
These fires have at times been deadly, both in Israel and around the world.
Israel Fire and Rescue Services said that only certified batteries should be used for electric bikes and that no changes should be made to the battery.
In addition, batteries should not be left to charge unsupervised and should be disconnected from the electricity source immediately at the conclusion of charging, the statement said.
