The family members of the late firefighter Dekal Marciano, one of the firefighters who were killed in the pit disaster in Deir al-Assad last August, filed a lawsuit this week for over NIS 2.5 million against the National Fire and Rescue Authority, N12 learned. Hadin Giura Ibn Tzur and Avitar Katzir claimed that “the death of the deceased was the result of hair-raising acts and omissions, each of them more serious than the other. The failures extend to each of the stages of the event and its handling.”
Rescue operations for three people who fell into a pit in Deir al-Assad
The difficult event took place last August in Deir al-Asad near Karmiel, after Samad Al-Aramin, a Palestinian youth from Hebron, who worked in Deir al-Asad, fell into an 8-meter-deep hole in the yard of a house in the Galilee settlement. If it became known about the unusual case, the firefighters from the northern district were called to the scene and began the attempts to rescue the young man. According to the indictment, they did so without proper equipment – and apparently were harmed by gases that were inside the pit. After the rescue forces managed to rescue the three, they were evacuated in critical condition, during resuscitation operations, to the Galil Medical Center in Nahariya, but there the doctors had to pronounce them dead.
Lawyers for Marciano’s family present throughout the lawsuit the series of critical failures that, according to them, occurred in the area of the pit that led to the disaster: “Dekal’s commanders ordered him to enter the pit. This hasty and negligent instruction was not preceded by any monitoring, moreover, the instruction was given without Dekal being equipped in critical protection and requires including an open breathing system (NAF). If so, the act of “hanging” (hanging) a palm was also defective and wrong, which made it very difficult later on to rescue him. Dekel, who was a dedicated and obedient worker, followed the order of his senior officer, who urged him to feel and go down into the pit and went down into the pit without any monitoring or assessment of the situation and without protection and without an open breathing system, and while performing a poor suspension. All this was done in front of the eyes of the senior HILZ (rescue and rescue unit) officer and the shift commander, in front of the eyes of his team commander and the officers who surrounded the pit.”
“Unfortunately, in a few seconds, Dekal lost consciousness,” the lawsuit states. “Attempts to pull him out and rescue him failed since the poor suspension caused his body to shift into a balanced position and given the fact that it was a ‘bell’ pit (a pit whose opening was narrow and later expanded to a width of two meters), it was not possible to pull his body out. Second firefighter Adnan Asad , immediately realized that Dekal was in severe respiratory distress, and he also entered the pit without an open breathing system and without security to rescue his friend. Unfortunately, he also lost consciousness within seconds and fell into the pit.”
Dekal Yehuda Marciano and Adnan Asad, the firefighters who were killed during the rescue “Commanders lost their tempers, orders were thrown into confusion”
“At the scene, a great panic began,” the lawsuit describes, “Commanders lost their tempers, orders were thrown into confusion, oxygen cylinders were thrown into the pit in a desperate attempt to enrich the pit with oxygen, meanwhile Unit 669 of the Air Force was called to the scene as well as other police and firefighting teams. The anarchy intensified when dozens of villagers gathered around the pit, and this in a disaster scene, which was supposed to be sterile. Only after a long time were the two firefighters rescued. A medical team that was on the scene found the deceased unconscious without a pulse and his pupils dilated. They immediately began advanced resuscitation efforts, after which he was rushed Urgently to the hospital.”
“At the hospital, the doctors tried to fight for his life and continued resuscitation attempts, including giving electric shocks,” the lawsuit describes. “In light of the work, which was gas poisoning, the deceased was connected to 100% oxygen and transferred to intensive care while sedated and ventilated. Unfortunately, his condition deteriorated and two days later the chances of saving him were zero and the doctors pronounced him dead.”
The late Decal Marciano “This is a very prominent inscription on the wall”
“As far as the prosecutors know, the police investigation has not yet been completed, it is already clear that Marciano’s death was the result of hair-raising acts and omissions, each of them more serious than the other,” the lawsuit states. The late Marciano left behind his wife and three small children, Lavi (4.5), Niv (2) and the little Uri – a baby girl who was only one month old on the day of the disaster.
After the tragic incident, the Israel Fire and Rescue Commission responded that “the Israel Fire and Rescue Commission appointed a committee headed by Tafser to investigate the circumstances of the incident. Upon completion of the committee’s work, the findings will be studied and the necessary lessons learned.”
Attorney Giora Ibn Tzur representing the Marciano family
However, in an interview given by the family members of our late lecturer after the disaster, they said: “We do not trust the investigative committee they set up. We will form our own investigative committee that will consist of lawyers. As far as we are concerned, they were thrown to death. We are not going to give up until we get answers.”
The wife of the slain firefighter struggles to regain consciousness
Lawyers Giora Ibn Zur and Avitar Katzir, who represent the family of the late Marciano, said: “The lawsuit that was filed reveals an endless chain of serious omissions, including by the hands of senior officials in the fire and rescue system who were present at the scene of the disaster, made all possible mistakes and acted in complete opposition to the accepted doctrine of warfare. Dekal’s family will fight to the end in order to expose the series of omissions that led to the death of the late Dekal and will not be silent until justice is served with all those whose negligence contributed to the tragic death of their loved one.”
Adv. Avitar Katzir, who represents Marciano’s family | Photo: Public Relations
The Fire and Rescue Commission responded: “The fire and rescue system shares in the grief of the family of the firefighter, Major Dekal Marciano, who fell while performing his duty in an operational incident. Upon receipt of the claim, the fire department will convey its professional position to the authorized bodies and the court. The fire department will continue to embrace and accompany the bereaved family and work for a national commemoration of the firefighters who fell in the line of duty.”
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