4 Rescued as Multiple Fires Break Out in Haifa, Arson Suspected
By The Media Line Staff
A fire that began in a parked vehicle in Haifa early Sunday rapidly spread to a residential building, forcing emergency crews to pull four people, including a baby, from smoke-filled apartments as firefighters worked to contain multiple blazes reported across the city.
Crews were first alerted to a burning car on Nissenbaum Street in the Yizre’alia neighborhood. By the time responders arrived, flames had climbed the exterior of a nearby building, igniting laundry areas outside the apartments and pushing smoke into the stairwell and several homes. Firefighters searched the structure room by room, locating three adults and an infant who were unable to exit through the smoke. All four were carried outside in light condition and treated at the scene.
After confirming no additional residents were trapped, Fire and Rescue teams ventilated the building and checked for lingering heat pockets. Officials said they detected none and declared the structure safe for further inspection.
Investigators quickly opened a criminal probe after early findings suggested the car had been deliberately set on fire. According to the fire investigator on site, the vehicle appeared to have been doused with a flammable liquid before being ignited. Reports Walla described the scene as “chaos in the streets” and identified the event as “a criminal incident.”
Even as teams wrapped up operations on Nissenbaum Street, firefighters were dispatched to a separate blaze near Haifa’s Ein Hayam neighborhood, where heavy smoke drifted into nearby homes. Nine crews were assigned to battle that fire, which authorities said was also linked to the wider series of incidents tied to the suspected car explosion.
The Fire and Rescue Service reported that all trapped residents from the apartment building were evacuated in stable condition. The agency said its investigators are working to determine whether the events are connected and reiterated that evidence so far points to criminal activity.
No additional injuries were reported as of late morning, and crews remained in the area to monitor for new flare-ups.
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