A fire broke out Friday morning in the stairwell of an eight-story building on Bikhurim Street in Kiryat Ata, sending thick smoke to the upper floors. Firefighters rescued and evacuated 12 residents — 11 in light condition and one in moderate condition — to Bnei Zion and Rambam Medical Centers in Haifa, according to the Israel Fire and Rescue Services. Fire crews controlled the blaze and an investigator is examining the cause.
Firefighters from the Krayot and Haifa stations controlled a blaze at an eight-story residential building on Bikhurim Street in Kiryat Ata by mid-morning Friday, after a complex rescue operation. The fire, reported around 08:00, began on the ground floor entrance and sent thick smoke up the stairwell to the eighth floor, according to the Israel Fire and Rescue Services. Crews operated on two axes: extinguishing the source and opening a vent on the top floor to clear the smoke, while conducting extensive searches for trapped residents. As of 09:15, the scene was cleared and all 12 evacuated residents had been taken to Haifa hospitals.
The Zioneer's reporting shows the casualty picture sharpening across the morning. At 09:15, the first bulletin noted 'no casualties,' but within the same minute Magen David Adom reported seven injured from smoke inhalation, including two women in moderate condition. By 09:15, MDA had updated the toll to 12 victims, and the Fire and Rescue Services confirmed 12 evacuated — 11 with light injuries and one in moderate condition — to Bnei Zion and Rambam Medical Centers. The initial reports of two infants among the injured were not repeated in the final operational summary. A fire investigator is probing the cause.
This is the second high-rise residential fire in the region this week: as The Zioneer reported on Thu Jun 18, a fire on MacDonald Street in Netanya injured 14 people, including a mother and two children in moderate condition. Fire crews rescued 25 people in that incident.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. No official statement has been issued regarding the origin or whether the building was equipped with fire safety systems such as sprinklers or smoke detectors at the time of the fire.
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