Two Ashkelon women die in apartment fire

Mother and daughter die in 18th-floor apartment fire after electric heater ignites furniture.

Home Front Command drill 311 (photo credit: Ben Hartman)
Home Front Command drill 311
(photo credit: Ben Hartman)
Two Ashkelon women died in a fire that broke out in their apartment after an electric heater ignited their furniture on Thursday, Army Radio reported.
Rescue workers declared the two women, a mother in her 90s and daughter in her 60s, dead upon discovering their bodies in their 18th-floor apartment.
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The police, who are still investigating, believe the two women died of smoke inhalation, and suspect that the fire was sparked when a heating stove set a blanket alight, spreading flames through the apartment.
According to the Fire and Rescue Services, neighbors did not notice the fire sooner because the apartment was well-sealed, holding in signs of smoke and flames until it was too late. 
A short in the elevators resulting from the fire further delayed firefighters, forcing them to climb the 18 flights to the apartment.