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(Hai Fe) - The shelter and defense regulations in Israel are designed to ensure the safety of citizens in emergencies, such as missile attacks and natural disasters. The law refers to private and public buildings and defines standards for existing and new buildings. How many talented shelters are there in Haifa? Is there a law requiring the installation of services? And what about accessibility?

Yona Yahav, the mayor, demands that the law require the construction of toilets in any protected space, such as parking lots ► Watch

Mayor Yahav - toilets in every protected area for the masses (photo: Samar Odeh Karantinji)

The law in Israel states that every public and private building must include a shelter or a residential protected area. The original regulation regarding the construction of shelters was enacted in 1951, following the War of Independence, in which they realized that it was necessary to protect the citizens from air attacks. But over the years, Many updates and amendments to the law to adapt it to the changing reality of security threats. In 1992, following the Gulf War, regulations were added requiring the installation of a security alarm in every new apartment.

In addition, in recent years, changes have been introduced with the aim of facilitating the procedures for submitting the application and the approval of additions to existing houses with air conditioners. In buildings where there are air conditioners in all apartments, there is no obligation to build a common shelter. However, in older buildings, where there are no emergency shelters, the law requires a common shelter for all tenants.

Following the war of iron swords and the fear of the expansion of the northern front as far as Haifa, as well as in light of Mayor Yona Yahav's words about two months ago at a press conference in Haifa Municipality, where he spoke about the critical need for toilet facilities in protected areas, we decided to look into the matter in depth. Yahav stated that it is unacceptable for people to be forced to stay for several days in protected spaces or in parking lots without available services, and emphasized his fight to ensure their construction in every protected space. To understand the current situation in the city and the requirements of the law in this area, we also examined the issue of accessibility in the protected areas.

Toilets at the shelter (Photo: Nega Karmi)

Does the law require toilets or showers in shelters or shelters?

The regulations enshrined in the law from more than 50 years ago do require the installation of toilets in public shelters. In common shelters and shelters, the regulations do not require toilets connected to pipes, and a chemical chair with a curtain and a handhold can be added in accordance with the accessibility regulations.

In Haifa there are 174 public shelters scattered throughout the various neighborhoods, of which 66 shelters are inside schools and kindergarten clusters. These shelters are intended to be used by the general public in times of emergency, and are maintained by the municipality on an ongoing basis. In addition, the municipality qualified the opening of five Carmelit stations as protected spaces, when an alarm sounds, as well as 16 underground parking lots.

It is important to note that the private/shared shelters and the shelters are maintained by the residents and the house committees. Since the beginning of the Iron Swords War, 219 applications for permits to build shelters have been submitted to the municipality, of which 120 applications have already been approved in an expedited procedure.

The security situation in Israel dictates the need for adequate protection for all citizens, and the law is intended to ensure that the protection is provided in an optimal way and at the right time. Haifa, as a large city located in a sensitive area, should invest a lot of effort in ensuring adequate protection for its residents, while making sure to update the protection regulations according to the changing needs.

Toilets at the shelter (Photo: Nega Karmi)

The Home Front Command reported to Lai Pa:

"The regulations approved more than fifty years ago for public shelters require the establishment of stationary toilets in shelters, in accordance with the key of one toilet cubicle for every 20 square meters of space. On the other hand, for protected areas there is no regulation requiring the establishment of toilets with permanent piping. Instead, there is a requirement to place a house One chemical chair for every 20 square meters, along with a curtain and a handrail, as part of the accessibility requirements. However, it is possible to voluntarily combine toilets with pipes in protected spaces, according to the specifications that include wet rooms that meet the requirements of the standard.

In response to the questions addressed to the municipality, Lahi Pa was given the following:

The municipality wishes to integrate (in the construction plan) services on every floor of every underground parking lot established in the city.

Since the outbreak of the war, the municipality has located underground parking lots that serve as "mass shelters" which have increased the amount of technical protection in the city threefold. In all the public shelters there are toilets, as well as in the mass shelters there are toilets along all the floors.

In addition, the municipality is working to install generators in the public shelters in case of power outages, as well as WIFI systems that will allow those staying in them to keep in touch with their families and stay updated on the directives of the Home Front Command and the municipality. It should be noted that the mass shelters are intended for a long stay and these will be opened to the public according to the directives of the Home Front Command in accordance with the security situation.

In the meantime, the municipality upgraded the public shelters and these were connected to a remote control system that automatically opens the shelters when an alarm sounds or according to the decision of the municipal security department. Also, the system includes volume detectors (which warn of activity in the shelters), detectors that warn of water intrusion and a backup system (to open the doors) in case of a power outage and communication failure. As mentioned in all public shelters - there are toilets.

Carmelit stations during an emergency

The shelters are intended for passers-by only, as immediate shelter

The Carmelit stations (with the exception of the Paris station which is not safe for use in an emergency and therefore will not be opened) as well as the shelters that the municipality puts in place, are intended only for passers-by who are nearby as shelter for a short time and are not intended for a long stay. Also, it should be noted that the Carmel tunnels are not approved for use in an emergency, both because they cannot be closed and therefore do not protect against the top, and because they are supposed to be used by emergency and rescue vehicles that will pass through them when necessary with great speed.

Parking lots as a protected space for crowds in Haifa

enter within a minute "the most protected place there is"

The list of municipal shelters and shelters appears on the Haifa Municipality website under the "Emergency and Security" tab. We recommend residents to make use of the site, which includes important and life-saving instructions regarding proper preparation for an emergency, choosing the "most protected area available", the addresses of the public shelters and mass shelters, as well as the location of the essential services that are supposed to operate in an emergency. All the information appears on the dedicated website that the municipality set up for emergency preparedness and a link to it was sent several times during the last period.

We repeat and emphasize that in any case of an alarm, you must enter within a minute "the most protected place available" according to the instructions of the Home Front Command and stay there for at least 10 minutes from the moment the alarm is placed.

What about getting the permit for MMDs?

Following the "Iron Swords" war, the government decided to resolve in most cases the need to obtain a building permit for the construction of a MMAD. Due to this fact, the municipality does not have data on the number of MMADs built in the city since the beginning of the war. As for the more complex cases involving buildings for conservation, tall buildings, etc., they have been submitted to the municipality since the beginning of the war and up until today, 219 applications have been submitted to the municipality, of which 120 applications have already been approved in an expedited procedure.

Wheelchair accessibility (Photo: Samer Odeh)
Wheelchair accessibility (Photo: Samer Odeh)

19 shelters were accessed as well as all the mass shelters in the underground parking lots

Regarding the accessible shelters, we were told by the Haifa municipality that all the mass shelters that the municipality has trained in underground parking lots since the outbreak of the war are accessible. In addition, the municipality made accessible all accessible public (overground) shelters.

The list of accessible public shelters:

  • Degania 53
  • Yoav 13
  • The olive 22
  • Gadana 5
  • Anne Frank 40
  • Stable 46
  • Degania 33
  • Degania 10
  • The 51st army
  • David Raziel 44
  • Mishmar Hamek 10
  • Abarbanal 69
  • The owner of the condition 4
  • 62 cedars
  • Beit Alpha 27
  • Abarbanal 26
  • Marcus 11
  • Bialik 3
  • Labor 3

The municipality emphasizes that underground shelters built decades ago are not accessible and are therefore also exempt from the obligation of accessibility according to the accessibility regulations. It should be noted that using the elevator when an alarm sounds is prohibited and dangerous.

contact: At watsapBy email

Samar Odeh - Carantinji
Samar Odeh - Carantinji
Journalist in the team of correspondents of the Chai Pe site • Municipal reporter, crimes, environment and health Contact Samar by email: [email protected]

Articles related to this topic

5 תגובות

  1. Yona Yahav Sharit Golan is interested in killing pigs. Residents' safety, arranging shelters, opening school shelters is theirs and beyond. They sit in their ivory towers and don't care

  2. In half of Haifa there is no MMAD or shelter!! On Brenner Street, for example, all the buildings are old without a shelter or shelter, the municipality is just fooling itself into knowing!! Let them scatter shields like in an envelope. Residents do not have enough time to get to parking lots or a shelter that is very far away.

  3. Kastah from the land of Kastah
    A mayor who was mayor for 12 years after the Second Lebanon War
    Did nothing to improve the shelter in Haifa. He did not build a single public shelter.
    Didn't make an escape plan and prepare for an emergency in the neighborhoods (and we saw the consequences in the Carmel disaster when the firemen had trouble reaching the centers of the fires because of huge traffic jams from the mess of a municipality without an emergency evacuation plan)
    A mayor who bought fire engines only 4 months after the fire disaster, and that same year in February 2010 prevented a debate requested by the opposition on the state of the fire services in the city, only because the request was submitted by an opposition member.
    A vindictive and vindictive failure man who makes headlines for his demands when he himself did - zero.

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