New fire station dedicated year after Carmel fire

A year after massive blaze ripped through Mount Carmel, relatives of the fallen will gather at University of Haifa for a scholarship ceremony.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Carmel Fire 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Nir Elias)
Carmel Fire 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Nir Elias)
A year after a massive blaze ripped through Mount Carmel and killed 44 people, relatives of the fallen will gather at the University of Haifa on Thursday for a scholarship ceremony to honor their loved ones.
Forty-four students who have agreed to volunteer for the good of the community will receive the scholarships from an anonymous donor.
RELATED:Criminal probe of two Carmel fire suspects closed
The ceremony will be attended by Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, Israel Police Insp.-Gen. Yochanan Danino and Prisons Service Commissioner Aharon Franco.
Most of the fire victims were Prison Service cadets who were sent by bus to Damon Prison to evacuate inmates.
Later on Thursday, the officials will gather at Usfiya, near the site of the first blaze last December, to lay down the cornerstone of a new fire station.
Police and state prosecutors recently closed a criminal negligence case against two youths from the town suspected of throwing a charcoal from a water pipe into the woods last year, sparking a fire that quickly turned into the four-day inferno.
Nearly 20,000 people were evacuated from their homes, and fire crews arrived from abroad to help overwhelmed local firefighters contain the flames.
Also on Thursday, the Fire and Rescue Service will launch a NIS 2.8 million TV and Internet advertising campaign aimed at increasing public awareness on how to prevent fires.
The Service’s emergency number – 102 – will be highlighted in the ads, which will feature professional firefighters, alongside actors.
Most fires are caused by people leaving electrical appliances on, or by faulty wiring, the Service said on Wednesday, leading to the idea for a preventative campaign.
Leaving electric stoves on is one of the biggest causes of domestic fires, the Service added.
A full interview with Fire and Rescue Commissioner Shahar Ayalon on how his organization transformed itself since the disaster will appear in The Jerusalem Post on Friday.