Woman dies from injuries in Soran house fire caused by kerosene heater explosion

SORAN — A woman injured in a house fire two nights ago in the Isqala neighborhood of central Soran has died from her injuries, local civil defense officials confirmed Sunday.

The fire, which broke out the night of April 18, severely injured the woman and two of her children. After receiving initial treatment at Ashti Hospital in Soran, she was transferred to the emergency hospital in Erbil, where she died due to the extent of her burns.

Karwan Mirawadeli, head of the Soran Civil Defense Directorate, confirmed the woman’s death and said one of the children remains hospitalized in unstable but closely monitored condition.

Rawand Hawdiani, spokesperson for the Soran Civil Defense Directorate, told 964media that the fire was caused by a fuel-related accident.

“The incident was caused while filling a kerosene heater with fuel, which then exploded and set the house on fire,” Hawdiani said.

Fires remain a common hazard in the Kurdistan Region. From January to October 2024, Erbil Civil Defense recorded 2,057 fire incidents. Dried grass and shrubs were the leading cause, responsible for 842 cases. The fires resulted in 46 deaths — 22 from burns and 24 from suffocation — and injured 89 people. Civil defense teams rescued 56 individuals and recovered 11 vehicles during these emergencies.