Fire erupts at Jerusalem seminary: Dozens rescued, 3 in serious condition

A fire broke out this morning (Monday) at a seminary boarding school on David Yellin Street in Jerusalem. 12 fire and rescue teams from around the area were dispatched to the scene. The firefighters who arrived at the scene identified a well-developed fire in the boarding school on the top floor of the building and began rescue operations.

The Israel Fire and Rescue Service reported that the teams that penetrated the building identified a large number of girls who were trapped in the smoke and fire, and rescued dozens of schoolgirls from the burning building. At the same time, searches carried out by the firefighters at the site did not find any trapped or additional casualties.

MDA reported 38 casualties in the incident, some of whom received medical treatment on the spot and some were evacuated to Shaare Zedek and Hadassah Ein Kerem hospitals. Three of the injured are in serious condition. Two others are in moderate condition and the rest are in light condition.

Dr. Arie Yaffe, a volunteer physician at United Hatzalah, and paramedics Ariel Dray and Zeevi Klein said: "In a fire in a residential building that was shared by a seminary for girls, we provided first aid at the scene to a large number of victims, including 12 girls who were evacuated in United Hatzalah ambulances. In addition, medical assistance was provided at the scene to three girls in serious condition, two girls in moderate condition, and the rest in mild condition. Large firefighting forces worked at the scene to extinguish the flames and rescue the trapped people from the burning building."

* Kikar Hashabbat contributed to this article.