Dozens hurt, three critically, in fire at Jerusalem seminary

A fire that erupted on Monday morning at a Jerusalem seminary dormitory on David Yellin Street caused injuries to almost 50 people, including three in critical condition, according to the Magen David Adom emergency medical service.

Firefighting teams worked to put out the fire raging in the upper floors of the dormitory and rescued scores of female students who were trapped inside the building, Hebrew media reported.

The volunteer-based emergency response service United Hatzalah reported that an additional two individuals were listed in moderate condition and the rest suffered light injuries. All were evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Center and Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.

According to Ynet News, one of those critically injured was the seminary’s security guard, who ran into the building to rescue the students before first responders arrived. The rescue efforts were reportedly delayed because the doors to the seminary were chained shut.

A 17-year-old boarding school student told Israel’s Channel 12, “A friend of mine woke me up because she smelled smoke. She woke us all up. We are five in the room, and you can’t get out of our window. We opened the door, [but] smoke came in, so we closed it. I wanted to call firefighters but couldn’t even remember the number. We opened the window, and people told us to get out. We couldn’t see anything, there was smoke everywhere. We couldn’t tell if it was just smoke or [smoke with] fire but we all held hands and just got out.”