Teen hero killed while fighting Carmel blaze + how you can help

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'Huge soul' Elad Riven

Teen hero killed while fighting Carmel blaze

16-year-old Elad Riven lost his life while volunteering in battle against Carmel hills fire. Birthday balloons still decorate his home. Mother: He was my whole life

Yael Branovsky

Published: 12.04.10, 15:00 / Israel News

Family and friends gathered Saturday morning at the Riven family home to comfort Tzvia, the mother of Elad Riven who was killed in the Carmel fire.

The 16-year-old, an only child, decided to volunteer and help battle the huge wildfire in the Carmel hills, when he got caught in the flames and lost his life near kibbutz Beit Oren.

"He was my whole life, I shared everything with him", cried his mother, who was the one who drove him to the fire services headquarters on Thursday to join the extinguishing efforts.

Elad celebrated his 16th birthday just last month, in a surprise party thrown by his friends. The balloons and decorations still hang at the Riven home. ...

There is more about this courageous young hero here.

Addendum:

Courtesy of Lynnis, come this:


(Okay, I couldn't get the link to work with the picture, so THIS is the link to go to for donations.)

Contribute to the Carmel Fire Relief Fund

December 3, 2010

The widely respected, and highly reputable, organization, Act For Israel, has launched a campaign to raise funds to assist Israel’s fire relief efforts.

The deadly forest fires broke out near Carmel Forest in northern Israel on December 2, 2010. This colossal forest fire has claimed the lives of at least 40 prison guards trapped in a bus while on a mission to rescue Palestinian prisoners from the blaze, with many others injured according to the Israeli rescue service. Emergency crews have evacuated hundreds of people near the Carmel Forest, including inmates from Damon prison. The fire, still raging at the time of this post, in the Carmel area, has engulfed kibbutz Beit Oren. Israeli officials are calling the fire the most catastrophic in Israeli history.

Israeli officials declared that it cannot contain this fire without outside resources — it is too massive. Dozens of towns have been evacuated — some neighborhoods from Haifa (the third largest city in Israel), and one of the most amazing places to visit in Israel – the Carmel Forest – has been nearly wiped out.

Israel Needs Help!

This is where you come in. Israel is one of the smallest countries in the world whose resources are stretched to the limit by the scale of this disaster. With only 1,500 dedicated firefighters in a national population the size of a single major American city, it desperately needs whatever assistance the world can give. Those looking for a way to give back to the only Jewish State can do so now. Israel regularly comes to the aid of other countries’ misfortunes – it was the first country on the scene to open a running hospital after the debilitating Haitian earthquake.

Now, you can return the favor. Please CLICK HERE and let Israelis of every ethnicity and religion hear from you.

(Source)