Patient dies in fire at Kaplan hospital in Rehovot
Staff extricates man before firefighters arrive to put out blaze, but he later dies of injuries; initial probe suggests electrical fault caused incident
Michael Horovitz is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel
A firefighter at the scene of a blaze at Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot, December 3, 2023. (Fire and Rescue services)
A patient died in a fire that broke out at Kaplan Medical Center’s Respiratory Department in the central city of Rehovot overnight Sunday.
Staff evacuated from the facility and managed to extricate the patient before Fire and Rescue services arrived, but he died of his injuries, the hospital said in a statement.
Firefighters got to the scene and promptly extinguished the blaze.
The hospital did not name the patient.
According to a preliminary investigation, the blaze broke out due to an electrical short circuit.
The probe into the incident is ongoing in collaboration with the Fire and Rescue Services, the hospital said.
