The ZAKA Rescue and Recovery organization recently launched a new firefighting unit, established in memory of the 44 victims of last month’s Carmel Forest fire. The unit includes three fully-equipped all-terrain vehicles (ATV).
The new ATVs will allow easy access and mobility on hilly terrain, and help deal with the beginnings of a fire before it begins to spread. The ZAKA ATVs are equipped with special 50 liter pulse water guns, which are 10 times better at quenching a fire than conventional methods now used for dousing flames.
The new ZAKA unit will make regular inspection tours of the Carmel Forest region and the North. The establishment of the firefighting unit was announced at a memorial ceremony for the Carmel Forest fire victims earlier this month.
The ZAKA Firefighting ATVs were donated by Michael Mirilashvili, Chairman of the ZAKA International Board of Directors, and Dr. Alexander Machkevitch, President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.
“Unlike others after the fire, ZAKA did not join the call for investigations and inquiries. Instead, they did what they do best – getting on with saving more lives, finding ways to help the people of Israel even more efficiently,” said Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger. “May these ATVs be used for nothing more than women in childbirth!”
The ZAKA organization is considered the main non-governmental rescue, life-saving and recovery organization in Israel.