Petah Tikva Fire Hits BIG Complex Construction Site

A fire erupted Saturday afternoon in an underground parking garage at the construction site of the future BIG shopping complex in Petah Tikva, Israel — and hours later, it was still burning. Folks, thick smoke spread toward residential towers in the Neve Gan neighborhood, streets were shut down, and as of 8:13 p.m. local time, the blaze remained out of control.

Petah Tikva Fire Hits BIG Complex Construction Site

Petah Tikva, Israel – August 8, 2026 — The Israel Fire and Rescue Authority confirmed the fire originated in the underground parking garage at the construction site of the future BIG shopping complex. Heavy smoke rose near the intersection of Jabotinsky and Moshe Dayan streets — two of Petah Tikva's busiest thoroughfares — and spread across a wide area, including toward residential towers in the nearby Neve Gan neighborhood.

The Initial Reports

Fire and rescue crews from the Petah Tikva station were dispatched after receiving reports of the blaze and large amounts of smoke, and police officers also arrived at the scene. Within a short time, the incident had grown from a routine call into a major emergency response, with the smoke visible from a considerable distance across the central city.

The Israel Fire and Rescue Authority said the fire originated in the underground parking garage at the construction site of the future BIG complex. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined and remains under investigation — a point officials repeated as the evening wore on, cautioning against speculation while crews worked.

Why the Smoke Was So Heavy

The scale of the smoke was no accident of wind. The Israel Fire and Rescue Authority said plastic materials and pipes were stored in the area where the fire broke out, and those materials produced the large plumes that spread from the construction site into the surrounding area. Burning plastics generate dense, dark smoke far heavier than a typical structural fire — and in an enclosed underground garage, that smoke has nowhere to go until crews can ventilate it.

That combination — stored combustibles in a confined underground space — is one of the most challenging scenarios firefighters face on construction sites. It is also why the response emphasized two parallel tasks: extinguishing the flames themselves, and ventilating the underground parking garage to clear the accumulated smoke so crews could safely locate the source of the blaze.

Underground fires carry extra dangers beyond the flames. Burning plastics and piping release toxic gases — carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide chief among them — that can incapacitate crews quickly in a confined space, which is why firefighters work in breathing apparatus and staged rotations. Heat also builds differently below ground: with no windows to vent and limited access points, a garage fire can bank down and spread along the ceiling, forcing crews to attack it from angles they can control rather than charge straight in.

Street Closures in Effect

The Israel Fire and Rescue Authority ordered Jabotinsky and Moshe Dayan streets closed to traffic, redirecting drivers away from the construction site as smoke drifted across the area. The closures hit at a busy time of day in one of Israel's most densely populated cities, and local traffic was snarled through the evening.

As of 8:13 p.m., the fire was still not under control, according to an update by the authority. Operations at the scene continued into the night, and officials said further updates would be provided as the situation develops.

How the Blaze Has Progressed

The story's own timeline shows how stubborn this fire was. The Jerusalem Post's first report was published at 5:22 p.m. local time; by 8:13 p.m., the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority was still describing the blaze as not under control, and an 8:58 p.m. update confirmed operations were continuing. More than three and a half hours of active firefighting in an underground garage — with crews rotating through smoke-filled conditions — is a measure of how difficult the fire proved to bring under control.

Throughout that window, the smoke kept doing what smoke does in an urban canyon: drifting. Authorities had to keep Jabotinsky and Moshe Dayan closed as plumes shifted with the evening wind, and the continued visibility of the smoke from a considerable distance meant residents and commuters were watching the same scene develop in real time — which is exactly why officials kept repeating that updates would follow as the situation develops.

Firefighting Operations

Crews from the Petah Tikva station led the response, working to extinguish the flames while simultaneously locating the source of the blaze and ventilating the underground parking garage. The confined-space conditions made the work slower and more deliberate than a surface fire — heat and smoke in an enclosed garage require staged access, and crews rotated in and out as conditions allowed.

Police officers managed the perimeter, keeping curious onlookers and traffic away from the danger zone. The Israel Fire and Rescue Authority said operations at the scene were continuing, and that further updates would be provided as the situation develops.

A Major Developer's Flagship Project

The site belongs to BIG — Big Shopping Centers Ltd., one of Israel's largest and best-known shopping-center developers, operating retail centers across the country for decades. The Petah Tikva complex under construction is a large-scale project that has been a visible part of the city's skyline for months, part of a wave of development that has reshaped central Petah Tikva into one of the country's fastest-growing retail and residential hubs.

Petah Tikva itself — known as the "Mother of the Moshavot," founded in 1878 — is one of Israel's largest cities, sitting in the Central District as part of the greater Tel Aviv metropolitan area. The city's growth has brought construction sites like the BIG complex into direct proximity with dense residential neighborhoods, which is precisely why the drifting smoke toward Neve Gan's towers drew urgent attention from residents and officials alike.

Neve Gan is one of those neighborhoods — a residential area of apartment towers that has grown up alongside the city's commercial corridor on Jabotinsky Street, one of the main arteries connecting Petah Tikva to the rest of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. When authorities closed Jabotinsky and Moshe Dayan, they were effectively shutting down the spine of the city's commercial district on a Saturday afternoon — the Israeli weekend's busiest shopping hours.

Cause Still Unknown

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Investigators have not released details on how the blaze started, and the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority has not indicated whether any workers were present at the time or whether anyone was injured. No injuries have been reported in connection with the fire so far.

Given the scale of the response and the ongoing nature of the incident, a full investigation is expected to follow once the fire is extinguished and the site is safe to enter. Construction-site fires are routinely investigated for electrical faults, hot-work operations and storage practices — but officials have stressed that no conclusions have been drawn at this stage.

Separate Bus Fire on Highway 7

In a separate incident on Saturday, a bus caught fire on Highway 7 near the Beit Raban Interchange, closing the road to eastbound traffic. Firefighters gained control of that blaze after extensive efforts, and the highway was later reopened, according to the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority's Southern District. The two fires were unrelated.

What Residents Can Do Now

Avoid the closed streets around Jabotinsky and Moshe Dayan, and stay clear of areas where smoke remains visible near the construction site. Residents in the Neve Gan area should keep windows closed while smoke drifts and monitor official updates from the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority for the latest guidance.

If you smell smoke indoors, close windows and doors, and use air conditioning in recirculation mode if available. Drivers should follow police diversions rather than attempting to bypass barricades — emergency vehicles are still moving through the area. And if you see smoke or flames anywhere near the site, report it immediately to emergency services rather than assuming it is part of the ongoing operation.

Looking ahead, the priorities are clear: bring the fire fully under control, ventilate the garage, and determine the cause. Once the site is safe, investigators will begin a formal inquiry, and the developer will face questions about construction-site storage practices — how plastic materials and pipes came to be stored in an underground garage in the first place, and what fire-prevention measures were in place. Anyone with respiratory conditions — asthma, COPD or heart problems — should take the smoke advisory seriously and limit time outdoors until the plumes clear, since smoke from burning plastics is especially harsh on the lungs. For the thousands of drivers who use Jabotinsky Street every day and the families watching smoke drift toward their towers, the next official update cannot come soon enough.

By Jessica Ali, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Reporting is based on sources cited in the article.