A car caught fire Sunday morning on Nissenbaum Street in Haifa, sending flames toward a nearby residential building and filling several apartments with smoke.
Firefighters said the blaze spread from the burning vehicle to the outdoor laundry areas attached to the building. Four people, including an infant, were rescued in mild condition after crews searched the apartments to confirm no one was trapped.
Fire and Rescue teams said they found no additional hotspots inside the building and worked to ventilate the smoke that had entered the apartments.
A fire investigator determined the incident was suspected arson, saying the private vehicle appeared to have been set ablaze with a flammable liquid. The flames climbed the exterior of the building and reached the laundry areas and a first-floor apartment.