Fire department officials are calling it “A true Chanukah miracle” as two fires on the first night of Chanukah were extinguished without deaths or injuries.

The first fire was on Hillel Street in Ramat Beit Shemesh. The blaze in the apartment was large, and three fire trucks were dispatched to extinguish the blaze. Arriving units began the job of checking the other apartments and the evacuation of the building, under heavy smoke conditions. B’chasdei Hashem the blaze was declared under control without injuries, however damage was considerable.

A probe of the blaze revealed the fire was most likely caused by a child playing with Chanukah candles. This led to the fire spreading to clothing and furniture, resulting in damage to the entire apartment.

The second blaze was on Kovshei Katamon Street in Jerusalem. In this case, the fire originated on a balcony of an apartment, once again from Chanukah candles. This time, it appears the menorah was left too close to cleaning agents, which ignited and led to the fire. In this case, B’chasdei Hashem, residents succeeded in putting out the fire. Firefighters arrived a short time later and they made certain the fire was truly extinguished as smoke conditions were relative heavy. They also used an exhaust fan to remove the smoke from the apartment.

Fire officials call on people to be extremely careful with Chanukah menorahs so the holiday does not end in disaster chas v’sholom.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)