ISRAEL POLITICAL BRIEF
ISRAEL POLITICAL BRIEF: ISRAEL NEWS
Prime Minister’s Office Response to the State Comptroller’s Report on the Carmel Fire
Source: PMO, 6-20-12
Prime Minister Netanyahu is studying the State Comptroller’s findings.
Some of the deficiencies indicated by the Comptroller were corrected immediately after the Carmel disaster:
An aerial firefighting squadron was established. In the past year, it has extinguished over 100 fires, including the major fire in the Jerusalem area.
The Fire and Rescue Service was transferred from the Interior Ministry to the Public Security Ministry and was allocated hundreds of millions of shekels for the opening of eight fire stations, the recruitment of an additional 300 firefighters and the purchase of an additional 89 firefighting vehicles.
In his report, the State Comptroller also notes that, “The Prime Minister’s personal involvement in the urgent securing of firefighting means from abroad by utilizing his network of connections with the leaders of the countries that expressed a willingness to assist in extinguishing the fire, was a positive and important contribution.” This is in reference to the fact shortly after the outbreak of the fire, the Prime Minister worked to bring in 38 planes and helicopters from 12 different countries. Without the firefighting planes from abroad, it would have been impossible to deal with the fire successfully.
Prime Minister Netanyahu thanks the State Comptroller for is work and will continue to work to correct the deficiencies.
