A serious fire in the basement of an office building at 2 Pinsker Street, at Moghrabi Square, in the center of Tel Aviv, caused injuries to four persons, including a child, this weekend, indirectly brought about the death of a youth whose scooter collided with a fire engine on the way to the conflagration, and forced the evacuation of surrounding office buildings.
The fire started in quarters occupied by a cosmetics laboratory, and resulted in damage to the building estimated at tens of thousands of pounds. Police authorities said the “possibility of arson is not excluded. ” Traces of highly-inflammable materials and fuel-soaked floors were found in the charred remains of the basement.
The blaze occurred just a week after fire destroyed the five-story Zim Building in this city, causing the death of one man and the injury of to others. The damage to the Zim Building was estimated at about $1,333,000.
Meanwhile, last night, guests were evacuated from the Dan Carmel Hotel, in Haifa, when a blaze threatened the hostelry. The fire was on a stairway leading to the top floor of the 10-story hotel, and broke out in a pile of mattresses. There was “extensive” damage to the stairway, but no one was injured.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.