Personal Stories
A Miracle Underground: How Shabbat Prevented a Tragedy in Haifa
A major fire broke out at the Carmelit station, but the trains weren’t running, and lives were spared
The train car completely burned (Photo: Basel Aiwaid, Flash 90)A Shabbat Fire and a Providential Pause
It happened one Saturday afternoon in February a few years ago. Around 12:00 p.m., a massive fire erupted at the Carmelit underground railway station in Haifa. Despite the intensity and danger of the blaze, there were no mass casualties. Senior officials credited this to one extraordinary detail: the train system does not operate on Shabbat.
“The only reason we didn’t see a major loss of life,” said a high-ranking police officer at the scene, “is because the Carmelit is closed on Shabbat.”
Firefighting teams were quickly dispatched to the underground station. Those who had dealt with previous emergencies at the site admitted that this was one of the most difficult incidents they had faced. The fire, which broke out deep in the subterranean tunnel system, had already damaged three train cars, one of which was completely destroyed.
Senior Fire Commissioner Shimon Ben-Ner remarked: “It was nothing short of a miracle that no one was seriously harmed. And that miracle happened only because the trains don’t run on Shabbat.”
