news brief Fire breaks out in Beersheva hospital, one dead

A fire broke out in the early morning hours at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva and is being blamed for one patient’s death, as well smoke-inhalation damage to two others who were unable to escape the area due to their being non-ambulatory.

Patients, medical personnel and other staff all had to be evacuated, while rescue teams worked hard to extinguish the fire, which started on the hospital’s fourth floor.

It wasn’t until the shouts of one patient, who was actually engulfed in flames, were heard by a hospital worker, that the fire was discovered. The worker immediately tried to douse the man with water and a fire extinguisher.

Although the cause of the fire is still unknown, there is speculation it began with a lit cigarette. Two other fires occurred in Israeli hospitals earlier this year – one the result of a badly extinguished cigarette butt.