Mayor Mordechai Namir today appointed a special committee to investigate what was described as the worst fire in this city’s history, in which a 70-year-old man was killed and 64 persons were injured when the five-story Zim Building in downtown Tel Aviv was gutted by flames this weekend. All of the injured were discharged from hospital by last night.
Only a skeleton hulk remained of the modern structure with damage estimated at 2,000,000 – 4,000,000 pounds ($667,000 – $1,333,000). The cause of the fire, which started on the ground floor, is still unknown. The flames spread quickly through the interior of the building, which was lavishly decorated with wood and asbestos.
Israeli Air Force helicopters rescued 60 persons who were trapped on the roof and upper floors of the building, while some 500 persons made their way down a ladder lifted to the roof by the fire brigade. The single fatality occurred when the elderly man attempted to climb down pipes outside the building after some younger persons had escaped that way.
One theory relating to the cause of the conflagration is that a fluorescent light had exploded, setting fire to wood fiber paneling. Another possible cause was seen in a suspected, faulty fuse box.
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