Two children were critically injured in an apartment fire in northern Jerusalem Tuesday afternoon.
The fire broke out in a building in the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Beit Hanina, near Pisgat Zeev, early Tuesday afternoon.
Firefighters and emergency first responders were called to the scene, where two young children were trapped in the burning apartment.
The children, ages 5 and 4, were pulled from the apartment and were treated on the scene by MDA emergency medical teams before being evacuated to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus.
Both children have been listed in critical condition.
Four firefighting teams were deployed to combat the blaze, which has now been contained.
“The fire broke out in a unit on the ground floor of the building,” said paramedic Yair Lekes.
“When we arrived at the scene, we were met by a police unit which was providing basic first aid to a five-year-old boy and four-year-old girl who had been rescued from the apartment. Both were unconscious and were suffering from smoke inhalation.”
“We provided life-saving medical treatment at the scene and performed advanced resuscitation techniques,” continued Lekes. “We continued resuscitation attempts while they were evacuated in critical condition to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus.”
Police are investigating the cause of the blaze.