Firefighters gained control of a blaze that erupted out at noon today in a building in the Armon Hanetziv neighborhood of Jerusalem, preventing the flames from spreading throughout the building.
Firefighters rescued 16 trapped and injured people from fire and smoke who were transferred for medical treatment by MDA Jerusalem forces, 7 of whom were evacuated for treatment.
Senior Commander Eitan Tzaliach from the Be'er station who commanded the incident, said, "We received a report of heavy smoke in a four-story building, with the fire on the lower floor and fire and smoke spreading to the upper floors.
"Firefighters broke through the fire and smoke, rescued the trapped people via the stairwell using special breathing and protection systems, as well as through the apartment windows. At the same time, other teams worked to extinguish the flames on the first floor of the building," he added. "In total, we rescued 16 trapped people from the building while some were injured and required medical treatment by the local medical forces, and some were even taken to hospital."
Tzaliach adds, "Only thanks to the speed of operational response, their courage, and the great professionalism of the firefighters, a heavy disaster was prevented in the fire in that building."