Jerusalem apartment building fire kills 4-year-old who was trapped inside for hours

Fire initially reported at around 4:30 p.m.; girl’s body not found until around 10 p.m., following hours of searching

By ToI Staff 28 April 2022, 11:41 pm

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Fire services at a deadly blaze at an apartment building in Jerusalem, on April 28. 2022. (Fire and Rescue Services)

A fire in Jerusalem Thursday caused the roof of an apartment building to collapse and killed a four-year-old girl who apparently became trapped in the building’s attic.

The fire was initially reported slightly after 4:30 p.m., with firefighters able to gain control of the blaze inside of the Geula neighborhood building after roughly two and a half hours, the Fire and Rescue Services said in a statement.

The fire caused burning pieces to fall from the building, endangering passersby and threatening to completely collapse the roof, the statement said.

Fearing that some residents could still be trapped inside, firefighters breached the building and rescued a 70-year-old woman from the lower floors of the six-floor building. She was evacuated to a nearby hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, according to the statement.

Three other residents initially believed to be trapped inside were later found outside of the building, leaving a missing four-year-old, who was believed to be trapped in the building’s attic.

Searching continued into the night but despite the continued efforts, the girl was only located hours later.

ירושלים- שריפה בשכונת גאולה, קריסת גג המבנה. לוחמי האש מבצעים סריקות במבנה אחר לכודים. pic.twitter.com/nekEwAFs3b

— כבאות והצלה לישראל (@102_IL) April 28, 2022

At around 10 p.m., reports indicated that the four-year-old was found dead, apparently due to smoke inhalation.

The Fire and Rescue Services said they would launch an investigation into the circumstances that led to the fire.

The burning rooftop of an apartment building in Jerusalem, on April 28. 2022. (Fire and Rescue Services)

Last month, an elderly couple in their 80s died of smoke inhalation after a fire broke out at their apartment in the Druze village of Yarka in northern Israel.

A similar incident took place a week earlier in the Bedouin town of Bir al-Maksur in the Galilee in northern Israel, when a 90-year-old man in a wheelchair failed to escape in time as his apartment was engulfed by flames.