Four people suffered injuries related to smoke inhalation due to a fire that broke out on Hamefaked Street in Jerusalem on Tuesday afternoon. The fire occurred in a storage unit in the basement of a building and broke through the stairs and into other apartments. Worried tenants called Firefighters and emergency medical services for help.
Mohammad Obeid, a United Hatzalah EMT volunteer, was in the old city when he was alerted to the emergency. Mohamad rushed to his ambucycle and drove off the scene and arrived at the same time as another United Hatzakah EMT volunteer, Shalom Avitan.
The pair of EMTs were the first medical responders at the scene and began treating the tenants who were pulled from the smoke-filled building by firefighters. Two of the injured were infants. “We provided the patients with oxygen and treated them for other light injuries, recounted Avitan.
After several minutes two ambulances arrived and transferred the injured to the nearest hospital to continue care.
After the fire incident ended Mohammad recounted: “Being an EMT is truly heart-filling, even though I have a family to care for and I study, I still make time to help people in need and save lives. I do my best to treat everyone with a smile so that they will not be scared and I can get them through the trauma they are experiencing in a kind fashion. When they see me arriving, it is important that they see me in a kind manner as it makes them feel calmer and safer, and that helps them medically as well.’’
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