Israeli Fire Destroys 40 Homes; Investigation

ENN 9/8/96 13:17

Israeli Fire Destroys 40 Homes; Allegations of Poor Response

SNS Special Report:

On Friday, September 6, 1996, a large fire broke out in the Jerusalem Corridor, affecting the Communities of Kiryat Anavim, Maale HaChamisha, Mevasseret Tzion and Har Hadar. The Fire Department once again was cited for its failures. It allegedly responded too late, with too little manpower and equipment, permitting the fire to get out of hand. The blaze took hours to get under control. Some forty homes were destroyed and 13 persons treated for smoke inhalation. IDF helicopters were called in to assist in controlling the blaze, which was once again under-estimated by Israel's failing Fire Service.

Damage Report

-- 2,000 dunams of land destroyed.

-- In Kibbutz Kiryat Anavim, 15 homes were destroyed and 10 buildings damaged.

-- In Bet Nekufa, several factories and livestock farms partially or totally damaged.

-- 300 persons were evacuated from the area.

-- 16 persons were injured. 13 suffered smoke inhalation and 3 were injured in a car accident that took place due to poor visibility in the area.

Time Table of Friday's Events -- 09/06/96

12:00pm - It is believed that children in the Abu Gosh area are burning small piles of refuse. It is an unusually hot and dry day. Suddenly, strong western winds carried the flames and spread the fire to other nearby brush and buildings.

12:39pm - According to Commander Monos, the first call for Fire Department assistance comes in.

12:45pm - The first fire vehicles arrive, according to Monos. (This contradicts all eyewitnesses on the scene, who state the trucks were delayed for over 30 minutes until the first unit responds).

1:00pm - Police and other Emergency Services are activated. Jerusalem Police Department District Commander Amit is notified. The flames reach Kibbutz Kiryat Anavim. Many kibbutz residents are evacuated to the guest house of Moshav Shoresh.

2:30pm - Two IDF Yassur helicopters, along with three light planes arrive to assist with the effort from the sky. The flames have already spread to Moshav Bet Nekufa. Additional fire units arrive from all nearby areas.
(Note: The IDF Spokesman states the call for helicopters was received at 1:24pm. The two Yassur helicopters were on the scene in 60 minutes. By 4:00pm, there were 5 Yassur helicopters operating at the scene. They continued operating at the scene until 7:30pm, under very difficult flight conditions.)

3:00pm - The flames have now spread over an area of 2,500 dunams (625 acres). Dr. Sachs, of JNF looks on in despair. He states, "It will take years to replace this great loss."

4:00pm - The choking smoke reaches Jerusalem. Police decide to evacuate the residents of two more areas, including northern Mevasseret Tzion.

6:00pm - The fire is declared under control.

Some of the main questions being by the public and media include:

-- Why didn't sufficient Fire Department manpower arrive at the scene during the first few critical moments of the fire?

-- Why did the first responding unit take 40 minutes to arrive at the scene?

-- After an upgraded report, why were only 2 more units dispatched? It was already understood that it was "a very large fire?"

-- Did IDF helicopters arrive on time?

-- Why doesn't the nation's Fire Service have its own helicopters?

-- Why did Jerusalem Fire Officials permit only four pieces of equipment to respond? (They were the closest stations).

-- Why was most of the work of controlling the blaze left to the Bet Shemesh Stations which are not equipped to handle such a fire?

-- Why were the recommendations of the Lapidot Commission not implemented?

-- Why were only 100 additional firefighters added to the department when 250 were recommended?

Boards of Inquiry

Four separate Boards of Inquiry will be established to investigate Friday's fire, which destroyed about 2,000 dunams (500 acres) of land. Prior to the findings of the Boards of inquiry, certain facts on the ground have already been established.

Minister of Internal Security Avigdor Kahalani stated, "If we are unable to take control of such a fire, something is drastically wrong. Someone is not doing their job. The entire Service must be investigated. We cannot afford a fire like this every year."

Another first, Uri Monos, the Commander of the National Fire Service was quoted as saying, "We should have responded with a larger initial force to contain the situation. The first minutes of such a fire are critical and I am not going to accept the performance of the Fire Officials who made the decisions." Monos admits that the Shift Commander used poor judgment in his decision to dispatch too few units to the scene.

Senior Fire Official Promises

Commander Monos promises to spearhead an investigation into the most recent Fire Department failure. Monos stated that he too, was informed of the fire too late and initially, he was unaware of the magnitude of the blaze. Despite this, he immediately ordered additional units from the Jerusalem District to be dispatched to the fire. Monos stated he also made immediate contact with the Air Force to place choppers on standby.

Unidentified Official Speaks

Another unnamed Senior Fire Department Official stated, "It was a major error only dispatching 4 pieces of equipment from the Jerusalem District. There are tens of units available. Most of the work to contain the blaze was delegated to the Bet Shemesh District, which has a total of 8 pieces of equipment and 46 firemen. They are under-equipped and were unable to get to the source of such a fire. How were they entrusted with controlling the blaze?"

Note: The Bet Shemesh Fire District, with its 8 trucks and 46 men, are responsible for 1 million dunams of land (250,000 acres) which includes 55 communities, 50,000 residents and thousands of livestock breeding centers. Some of the equipment dates back to the 1960s.

History

Bet Shemesh is reportedly slated to receive two new fire trucks, but they have not arrived. NIS 20 million ($6.25 million) has reportedly been allocated by the government to improve fire equipment and opertional needs. Commander Monos statesthat the new trucks will be in operation, "In the very near future." Following the July 1995 fire, in which tens-of-thousands of dunams were destroyed (SNS Update 528 - July 2, 1995), former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin appointed a Governmental Board of Inquiry headed by Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Amos Lapidot. In short, the Lapidot Report was very critical of the nation's failing Fire Service.

The Lapidot Commission

The Lapidot Government- Appointed Board of Inquiry, was entrusted to investigate the large Jerusalem Corridor Fire which took place in the Summer of 1995. The Commission requested the immediate hiring of 250 new firefighters. To date, only 100 were hired and many of them were never certified as firefighters.

Five new Fire Stations were to be set up in the Bet Shemesh area. To date, not even one was opened.

It was also recommended to purchase and integrate into the system 50 new fire vehicles. To date, not even one was brought into the system. Commander Monos stated that the procedure of purchasing and receiving such large pieces of equipment takes one year. He explains that in the coming year, 13 new units will be brought into the system.

NIS 4 million was to be designated towards the purchase of equipment to fight large fires from the air. It was decided to refurbish existing equipment, rather than purchase new helicopters. The possibility of purchasing used planes from France, that are designed for firefighting, is also reportedly being considered. These planes will cost approximately $1 million per plane.

Denials

Fire Department Commander Monos denies that his Service has not learned a lesson from past performances. He explained that the recommendations of the Lapidot Commission are being integrated into the system... but that it takes time. In addition, he stated the Fire Service is not being allocated the budget which would permit the implementation of some of the Commission's recommendations. This will reportedly be investigated by at least one of the four Boards of Inquiry being established at this time.

What Went Down

-- The Fire Service investigated the fire scene. It will present its findings to the Minister of the Interior this morning.

-- Following his receiving the report, the Minister will be appointing his own board to investigate Friday's failure.

-- The Environmental Ministry will also appoint a Board of Inquiry.

-- Dr. Menachem Sachs of the Jewish National Fund Forestry Department will also investigate the fire.

Fire Service On the Offensive

Senior Fire Department Officials lashed out at the Ministry of the Interior, Finance Ministry and the government. They explained that after every serious blaze, committees are appointed to investigate and recommendations are made. The Fire Department was never given the proper increases in its operational budget to implement the changes recommended.

ERRI Analysis:
By: Clark Staten and Steve Macko

The above article is a special report that was published by the SNS News Service in Israel on Sunday.(09/08/96). This highly in-depth report asks some very tough questions regarding the status of Israel's fire service.

As people who has studied and participated in the fire service for twenty years, and who has looked at fire operations in virtually every part of the U.S., we would, if given the courtesy of comment, make the following recommedations:

One, if the government of Israel is truly serious about improving the level of the fire service, We would suggest that that they consider bring in an outside consultant(s). Many jurisdictions or countries would probably reply, "We can do it ourselves." But from the reports that we have seen -- they may really need some outside opinions, here. Fresh, outside, and qualified opinions might prove most useful in improving the fire service in Israel.

Two, Since Israel has experienced two very serious fires, of a terrible magnitude, in the past two years. There is every indication that it could happen again. We might suggest that they seriously consider implementing a wildfire response plan similar to that used in the Los Angeles county area. When conditions are favorable for brush fires, the fire departments in the Los Angeles responds with a VERY heavy initial response, to any kind of a bona-fide report of fire.

As is indicated in the aforementioned report, the fire department in the Jerusalem area did not respond with a large enough response and the fire, essentially, got away from them. Because the fire department is smaller and units are separated even further in Israel, than they are in the Los Angeles area, it would seem even more important that a heavy initial response be sent to the scene of a reported fire.

Third, we also might suggest that the government of Israel look at the overall emergency response plan that is used by the State of Delaware. We believe that they would be able to get some ideas from that plan that might be of great assistance. The geographic area of coverage is similar and certainly some of the ideas transferable. If there is a very large fire in any part of the state, fire units from every part of the state are moved up to assist. Israel could consider such a program for its own use.

In closing, it is believed that there are any number of fire service experts from the United States who would be happy to provide valuable assistance to our Israeli allies, should they be invited to help to review the Bet Shemesh fire and offer suggestions for the future. We, at ERRI, would be honored to help to facilitate a fire service commission to help to study the issues involved and offer positive suggestions that might prove useful in future fire situations, such as occurred on Friday.

Disclaimer

As usual, in reports such as these, some of the figures, numbers and times may contradict one another. SNS reports the news from a number of major Israeli sources, with the obvious contradictions inherent in each. (Yediot Achronot Newspaper..9/8, Ma'ariv Newspaper..9/8, Galei Tzahal/Army Radio..9/8).

SHOMRON NEWS SERVICE is an independent news service, and is not affiliated with any political party or governmental agency. To subscribe to SNS, please e-mail: shomronnews-request@lists.dircon.co.uk with the message: subscribe. ENN can be reached by e-mail at enn@emergency.com or on the World-Wide-Web at http://www.emergency.com.

Return to the Fire Operations page