A fire broke out in a five-floor building in Neve Yaakov on Monday night about 10 p.m., trapping nine residents, including a mother and her children who were trapped on the fifth floor.

The fire began in the miklat (bomb shelter) of an apartment building on Ma’aglos HaRav Pardes and quickly spread. Many of the residents managed to flee the building but nine residents got trapped as smoke filled the stairwell.

Ten firefighting units and four cranes were required to fight the fire and rescue the trapped residents. It took the firefighters almost two hours to subdue the fire.

Twenty residents suffered from smoke inhalation and were treated at the scene by emergency services. Eight residents required further treatment and were evacuated to Shaarei Tzedek and Hadassah Har HaTzofim hospitals in light condition.

Shai Nechemia, the commander of the local fire station, said: “The fire began in the miklat of the building which was full, among other things, with old furniture, sukkos, and sechachim that caught on fire and created a large amount of smoke. The smoke rose to the top of the building, which due to its shape acted like a chimney.”

“The residents of the building tried to escape from the entrance, which allowed the dangerous smoke into the apartments, trapping the residents inside. Emergency service rescued them using cranes.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)