Beit Oren gets mobile homes following fire

Temporary housing is provided to residents of Kibbutz Beit Oren whose houses burned down in Carmel disaster. Total of 20 caravan units to be placed

Ahiva Raved|Published: 01.03.11 , 10:15

Mobile homes were placed in Kibbutz Beit Oren Monday as teams prepare to renovate the houses that caught fire in the Carmel disaster which claimed the lives of 44 people. Eight trucks transported four caravillas, prefabricated homes, which will house local residents for the next two years until their homes are renovated.

The kibbutz will get a total of 20 caravillas, mostly measuring 90 sq. meters (968.748 sq. ft).

Beit Oren residents are hoping the current solution will be a temporary one and that they will be able to return to their renovated or reconstructed houses within two years. The construction site was built exceptionally quickly – only 10 days ago the companies preparing the land for the caravans' arrival were selected.

Ofer Polack, a father of a two-year-old and 10-month-old baby is waiting to enter his caravan later this month after his house was burned down. The family left the house as the fire erupted early December and took nothing with them. "We felt we were leaving to be extra cautious and that we would be back within hours. We didn't know the fire would burn our and other people's houses down," he said.

Temporary homes being placed in Beit Oren (Photo: Ahiya Raved)

Meanwhile, Polack's children are staying with their mother in a relative's home. "The psychologists told us we shouldn’t bring them at this point, but only after the new house, albeit it a temporary one, will be ready." He was impressed with the accommodations. "It may be a temporary house but it's as big as our original one. I see that the state is making great efforts into providing a relief for the people whose homes were damaged."

Quick work

The Construction and Housing Ministry's northern director Shlomot Mor visited the site Monday and said she's never seen such quick work.

The project manager on behalf of the Construction and Housing Ministry, Gandy Ostrovsky, said: "Today we place seven caravans, the rest will be placed tomorrow and the next day and then we shall install the infrastructure and start renovating the buildings themselves."

Monday will also see memorial services being held for several of the Carmel disaster victims. On Tuesday, Migdal Haemek will inaugurate a new fire station named after firefighter Uri Semandayev who was killed while trying to rescue the burning cadets' bus.

State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss is slated to issue a report on the Carmel fire malfunctions in the coming months which will address failures prior to the fire.