The city's readiness for the big autumn fires
When large fires break out across the country, such as the one that raged in Jerusalem a few weeks ago, many Haifa residents return in their memories to the large fires that occurred in Carmel in 2010 and 2016. The big fires started in the fall, after a long dry period and when strong and dry easterly winds were blowing.
Is Haifa ready today to deal with another huge fire? And have lessons from the previous fires been applied?
Full disclosure: 5 years ago my apartment was completely burned down in a fire in Romma (Givat Oranim neighborhood). The one who stood at the door of his house and saw all his possessions burned, will not be indifferent to the risk that the shocking experience will happen to him again. A house fire is traumatic. The life after is different from the life before, but it is also possible to leverage the experience and learn to see it as a chance for renewal. I, for example, told the workers to throw away all the contents of the house, what burned and what didn't. The girls' toys that filled my house even though they had already grown up, were thrown away and we could adapt their rooms to their age.
In the days when the fire raged in the capital, we again saw flames burning thousands of dunams of forest and homes. Undoubtedly, this fire will still be investigated, what caused it and whether it could have been ended faster. Either way, it's worth trying to understand whether the conclusions from the fire from 5 years ago were implemented in Haifa.
One of the main conclusions from the recent fires in Haifa was that every neighborhood in the city should have more than one exit. The new Romema neighborhood (and Givat Oranim) has 4 entrances, and really, when the fire broke out, there were about 250 students in the neighborhood. Many parents came to the neighborhood to evacuate the students, and thanks to the fact that the neighborhood has several entrances, the school was quickly emptied of students and teachers.
(!) The construction of the escape roads in the Carmel neighborhoods - was not carried out
An inspection of the neighborhoods on the ridge revealed that if a fire breaks out in one of them and the evacuation of the residents is required, it may be slow, since there is only one road that goes out of the neighborhood. The municipality planned to build new roads from the neighborhoods on the ridge to the coastal road, but in practice, 5 years after the fire, no road was built.
In the great fire in Carmel, which happened in December 2010 and which mainly affected the Dania neighborhood (among the neighborhoods in the city), many residents tried to leave the neighborhood and since it was only possible to evacuate upwards and not downwards, the evacuation continued for a long time until all the residents were out of danger.
(!) The fire trails are only partially completed
Along with the need to build new roads, it became clear that there was a need for fire trails, which would isolate the residences from the trees in which they were immersed. It turns out that although it is a simple solution, its implementation is complex.
"For a year and a half I corresponded with the municipality regarding the fire trails," says Lahi Fe Sassoon Yona, a resident of Tzolalet Dekar Street, Givat Oranim neighborhood (the new Romma). "They asked for photos - we sent photos, we corresponded with them endlessly. 5 years ago the fire broke out here near our house, so no one can blame us that it is important for us to protect our property and nature in the next fire."
(!) Part time work only
Sashon Yona claims that the municipality sent inspectors to see the area:
"About 10 days ago, workers came here, made 20 meters of fire path and left. I contacted the municipality and the whole dialogue started from the beginning, but I didn't raise my hands. Again they asked us for sketches and we sent them. Again, workers came, made another 10 meters of path and left. I didn't raise my hands I called the municipality again. They explained to me that there are new procedures and that they are "reorganizing". The claim is that all this strange behavior is the result of a lack of budget, but what could be more important than fire trails in Rumma? Maybe if we had fire trails in Sherpa 5 years ago Our whole neighborhood wasn't on fire like that."
It should be noted that in an article that was published in Hai Pa about a month ago (10/8/21, attached here), a resident of the city from Netiv Ofakim Street in the mansion was interviewed. According to him, workers came on behalf of the municipality to build a fire path near his house, but compared to the proper procedure for building buffer zones, they had no plan, and the instruction they received was to come to the area and decide for themselves how to carry out the work. With the help of a neighborhood resident lawyer, the residents immediately stopped the works.
In general, it seems that the risk in Haifa of another fire that will cause widespread damage is still great. Today there are understandings regarding clear steps that can reduce the damages, if it does happen. The question is whether these actions will actually be carried out.
(!) Klish canceled:
The former head of operations, David Luria, describes what was done after the fire in 2016 in order to prepare Haifa for the next fire.
David Luria here:
"First, we divided the city into quarters during the fire. The city was divided into 6 zones and each zone received an operational response according to its needs. The other zones continue to operate as usual."
"Another thing we dealt with as a lesson from the fire was the whole issue of buses and public transportation, and we agreed on an activity plan when there is a fire. People left vehicles in the middle of the road in the fire, and it was impossible to drive on these roads and evacuate people from the fire. In addition, we needed buses to evacuate schools. We arrived to an outline according to which buses are diverted to evacuate schools instead of continuing to travel on the normal routes, when there are fires."
"One of the solutions for closed neighborhoods (neighborhood with one exit road), is roads from the neighborhoods to the west towards Route 4. The Ministry of Transportation was supposed to finance this and it conditioned the funding on the construction of a matron from Carmel French to the university. The current mayor of the city, Kalish Rotem, decided to cancel the matron of the Carmel Ridge, and therefore the Ministry of Transportation renounced the commitment to finance the roads. The Ministry of Transportation took the money that was intended for roads and transferred it to the construction of the Acre Nahariya metro station."
"We invested a lot in planning the buffer zones," says Luria, "a special team was sent to the area and determined which trees would be cut down in order to create the buffer zones. After that, the same team makes sure that things in the field are carried out according to the plans. The trick is not only to make the buffer zone but also To maintain it all the time. In the big fire, the main reason that the fire did not reach the houses in Ramot Sapir was the buffer zone we made."
Fire and rescue response to Li Fa:
Part of the authority according to the law is for the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority to carry out fire protection audits with the aim of reducing the spread of fires: grassland, woodland and forests and this according to guiding professional principles for the protection of settlements against woodland and forest fires.
In general, our professional recommendation to the Authority and according to Agronom's survey is to implement buffer zones of 10 m from the entire perimeter of the public buildings as required by the guiding principles.
Among other things, the removal and removal of herbaceous vegetation, pruning waste and combustible material as well as the felling of trees of invasive species at a distance of 10 m from the buildings, pruning works by HHI for the trees near the electric cables and the felling of Jerusalem pine and casuarina trees that endanger the peace of the public during a fire.
Also, as is customary in this process and before the implementation of buffer zones, a professional tour is held in which the forestry official - Ministry of Agriculture, a representative of the local authority, etc. participate to examine the trees that require treatment based on their risk and proximity to buildings.
◄ Subcommittee Itzik Suisa on Haifa's preparedness for a fire situation • fire and rescue response to Haifa - The News Corporation | watch
Yona Yahav, the former mayor of Haifa, told Haifa:
Most of Haifa's neighborhoods, especially in Carmel, which borders on the danger of fires, live in constant danger of death!!! I've been warning for years about the matter, the reason: neighborhoods only have one exit!
If it is blocked there is nowhere to escape. Every neighborhood must have two opposing exits! at least.
At one time there were funds and plans to pave these roads, but the residents firmly prevented it.
The government must deny by law the possibility of opposing this because I saw the fear in the eyes of the residents fleeing the burning neighborhoods.
Retired sub-tafser Itzik Shalu from Haifa in a detailed opinion:
Personal background - Itzik Shalu:
Itzik Shalu served for 31 years at the Fire and Rescue Commission. In his last position, Itzik was head of the harmful dust and asbestos branch in the Operations Division. He wrote the theory of fire fighting in asbestos incidents. He retired in 2016 and today manages the company Y.S. Ash and Smoke Ltd. - fire safety consulting and emergency preparedness plans and safety consulting for some of the largest companies in the economy. Among its clients: the leading companies in the real estate industry Etz Shaked, America Israel, Shit Gomor Electra Gomor Strauss Group, Tempo, Mi Eden, Shamir Engineering, Shuval Residences, building blocks, authorities, institutions and more...
Retired climber Itzik Shalio: The root of the problem lies in the fact that in Israel there is no law requiring the heads of authorities to create buffer zones as well as to place hydrants in the forest strip around the settlement (see the detailed HCVD). After the Carmel disaster, a committee was established to deal with the issue of legislation. Today, 11 years after the disaster, the law still does not exist. As a result, the firemen throughout Israel are encountering the difficulty of obliging the heads of authorities to create buffer zones. You are invited to review the detailed opinion that I wrote for the residents of Dania, which also refers in general to the proximity of buildings to the forest and the desired methods of defense.
This opinion was accepted by the Supreme Court and helped stop the Dania Green Plan and return it to the committee.
| Professional opinion regarding the dangers to the buildings bordering the grove and in reference to the Green Dania plan
(by retired Tafser Itzik Shalio)
Yaron Hanan gave a speech
(Yeron Hanan is an expert in emergency preparedness and management and risk management)
Yaron Hanan:
A. Implementation of the conclusions that emerged from the investigations of the great fires:
I'm not sure that since Luria left, everything learned from the fire in the Haifa neighborhoods in 2016 has been followed. For example, in the lesson learned report that I was invited to present after this fire, my proposal is to immediately use public transportation buses for evacuation, to prevent the unorganized and dangerous evacuation of the schools by the parents.
This required practice which, as far as I know, has not been done so far. What is not practiced, will not happen in a real event.
B. buffer zones:
To date this has not been carried out in many neighborhoods in the city of Haifa and it is not clear to me why it is being delayed.
third. Dangers from Haifa Bay factories:
In the report I submitted after the aforementioned fire, I stated again that I am no less concerned about a future fire event in Haifa Bay that would start at a site with fuels, hydrogen, ethanol, etc. like in ZEN. Indeed, a few months later, a dangerous incident happened that ended fortunately only in the fire of a fuel tank in Bezan that they were unable to put out until the fuel ran out after 3 days. They barely managed to prevent it from spreading to the tanks and a nearby LPG reservoir.
D. The lessons of the great fires in Bezan:
The Fire Authority and the regulators refuse to this day to disclose the reports on the lessons learned from the large fires in the Bezen complex in 2014-16. It was leaked to me that in fact there were at least two types of investigations after the two aforementioned fires: a true investigation within the company that was not published further and a more "state" investigation that included The rescue bodies and there some of the facts were presented incompletely, to say the least. This is probably one of the reasons why the aforementioned lessons have not yet been implemented.
ה. An extensive exercise that also includes the population:
Despite repeated appeals by the team of experts to reduce risks in Haifa Bay, which I am a center for, to carry out an extensive exercise that also includes the population in the event of a fire or explosion accompanied by the leakage of dangerous substances, as is done in other countries that are aware of the dangers from petrochemical plants, the Fire Authority, the municipalities and the Ministry of the Interior refuse to lead Such an important exercise that can certainly reveal essential gaps and save lives in a real event.
I will mention again: whatever is not practiced, will hit us with full force in a real emergency!
And the sooner the better!
Unfortunately, to this day, most of the threat scenarios that I was warned about have occurred... God forbid we will know this time too!
I invite you to read the summary of the investigation I prepared after the great fire in Haifa:
The municipality's response will be provided when it is received...
Mr. Yahav responds?? Does he dare to respond?? A person who did not build a fire station in Rome as was required in the Carmel tunnels. He did not purchase fire engines for years but only after the heavy disaster. A man who appointed his friend Rami Dotan to head the Haifa City Association of Firefighters when this person had no experience in the field and did not promote this association for years, nor the association's equipment, and they stood as a broken trough in the fires in Carmel and the burning of the oil tank in Bezan Shabar and Bar. And that's only one tank Among the hundreds in the area, the Haifa City Association for Firefighters did not hold drills, did not conduct a risk survey, did not establish emergency water reservoirs on the ridge for fires but only after the big fire, was understaffed for the necessary standards, and operates in Carmel from a small and outdated fire station.
This entire omission can only be attributed to Mr. Yona Yahav, who in February of that year refused to hold a discussion on the state of the fire brigades requested by the Greens and Yaron Hanan. Then in December we ate it with huge damage from the giant fire. The mayor also turned a blind eye to the dysfunction of the municipality regarding fire trails and thinning of dry forest. He did not order a neighborhood evacuation procedure or practice. The rush was enormous in the fire.
No one knew where to evacuate, if to evacuate. The municipality's communication with the public was simply non-existent, the entire "municipal emergency ambulance" system did not function at all. The ambulance vehicle was broken down and not in use. The transportation department collapsed and created traffic jams that prevented the arrival of fire engines.
Conflicting decisions on evacuating and not evacuating streets and neighborhoods have left residents in enormous confusion.
A high school firefighter volunteer who was not qualified at all and acted against the procedures, Elad Rivan was for some reason allowed to board the fire engine and was killed.
Ahuva Tomer who went on the radio and underestimated the fire caused one of the most serious disasters in the history of the prison service.
more and more. Default haunts default.
It has nothing to do with the current municipality, whose function or rather its lack of function we all already understand.
But the failure of the fire department was during the 15 years of the mayor's term the worst and most failed in its history, Mr. Yona "who flies abroad on average once a month - the record for state-funded trips abroad among mayors 5 years in a row" Yahav who was probably more interested in the fire services of the world's cities than in Haifa .
It's amazing and disgraceful that he has the ability to respond to articles like this. A man who by all accounts was at the top of the pyramid of those directly responsible for the Carmel disaster together with the Shas Interior Minister who of course dealt with Yeshiva and Talmud budgets and fire brigades were of no interest to him or the people of his office...
dear ram You wrote many correct things. Just to clarify your words, I submitted a motion to order to discuss the report of the municipal auditor that revealed serious failures in the Association of Cities for Haifa Firefighters, which was under the control of Yona Yahav and a member of his faction. They attacked me after I said that they are not prepared for major fires and are not doing their job as a regulator of essential facilities and hazardous plants. They mocked me and said that the Haifa area has "the most organized and advanced fire service in the country". We discovered the bitter truth a month later in the Carmel disaster. It is clear that in learning the lessons after this severe fire, all the fire unions of the cities were canceled by hand and it was decided that the issue would be rightly concentrated under a national fire authority that would act like a professional security body. A week after the fire, I was invited by the Neubach Foundation to appear in a live confrontation on Network B with Yona Yahav in light of the fact that, according to her, I was the only one who predicted and warned of such a disaster, due in part to the poor preparation of the fire services in the area. the commander of the Haifa station) and he said that the entire management of the fire was "total chaos" as he defined it. I appreciated him then for telling the truth openly.
I understand your heart, Michal. And as someone who lived in Ramot Ramez, the distance between us and Givat Oranim was a question of wind directions only. And today we just talked about the fact that the municipality is not ready to remove pine trees whose roots raise the level of the road and cause various damages. Why don't they cut down these flammable trees that do not characterize the Land of Israel? In California, that's what happens, at least in residential neighborhoods. The municipality distributes free trees to the residents to be planted instead of pines, and here there is still nostalgia for trees that cause fires. City of dreamers!
In the words of anyone who is interviewed...
Policy/behavior - after the flood
Straight to the lawyer's office Emmanuel Solanmonov for a personal lawsuit against Chalas Kalish and Tzuk Nachshon. Has anyone seen where he is hiding??
Maybe Amalek ran away to Obama?
Happy holiday
Shabbat Shalom