Jerusalem Fire Service spokesman Udi Gal explains that if the first firetruck arriving on the scene of the blaze on Shimon Agassi Street in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem came a few minutes later, the outcome would have been disastrous chas v’sholom.

The call for the fire in a 64 Agassi Street apartment came shortly at 4:00AM. When firefighters arrived they saw members of the family screaming from the balcony to save them, trapped by the blaze that engulfed their entire home.

Firemen did not hesitate and the first chore at hand was to pull the people trapped inside to safety. The couple and their children were B’chasdei Hashem extricated from the blaze, transported to a local hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation. Gal adds the damage to the apartment is extensive.

Shaare Zedek Hospital reports the parents and their two children, a 20-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter, all arrived in the emergency room during the predawn hours. They are all being treated for smoke inhalation. The mother and two children are listed in light condition and the father, about 60, is in moderate condition, medically sedated and on assisted breathing.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)