6 family members killed in fire buried in Rehovot

Investigators believe electric charger plugged into socket sparked tragic blaze.

Rehovot fire 370 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Rehovot fire 370
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Overcome with grief over the loss of her husband and five children, Avivit Sha’ar could not follow the bodies to their graves.

She began the funeral procession but was unable to continue to the burial, and was whisked away by relatives.She had told visitors that she has nothing left to live for.Hundreds of stunned mourners walked the bodies to their final resting places Tuesday in Rehovot, a day after the Sha’ar family lost six of its members to a fire in their home.Guy Sha’ar, 38, and his five children – Eliav, 11, Avitar, eight, Amitai, seven, Shira, three, and Itamar, one – were buried in the city’s Marmorak cemetery.Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger visited Avivit before the funeral.“There are no explanations.We have to be strong,” Metzger said. He described the lives lost as six candles on a menorah that went out.Fire investigators believe a faulty electrical charger for a cellphone or computer, which was plugged into a socket near the parents’ bed, likely sparked the fire.Investigators from the Fire and Rescue Services and the Israel Police singled out the charger as the primary cause of the blaze.Guy Sha’ar died after charging into his burning home to try and rescue his children.Ido Kapara, who lives next to the burned-out apartment, told Channel 2 that he tried to break in after hearing Avivit’s cries.“There was very thick smoke. All of the neighbors tried to break in. But we couldn’t get inside.There was total chaos,” he said.“It was only after we heard the mother’s cries that we understood that children were trapped inside,” he added. “We didn’t know the horror was this big in scope.”Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sent his condolences, saying he experienced deep shock upon hearing of the disaster, and pledged to assist Avivit in any way possible.