Offenbach - Two dead and three seriously injured after house fire
Two people have been killed and three others seriously injured in a fire in a three-storey residential building in Offenbach city center. The fatalities were a small child and an as yet unidentified person, the fire department announced this morning.
The child was initially rescued from the burning house by the emergency services, but later died in hospital.
The still unidentified fatality could not be rescued from the flames. "It was so hot that the emergency services had to retreat," said a fire department spokesperson. "A situation like this is not easy for the emergency services either." Other residents were rescued.
According to previous information, there were five people in the house at the time of the fire on Tuesday evening. The three injured people were taken to hospital with burns and smoke inhalation. According to initial findings, more than 30 people were living in the three-storey building, a police spokesperson said. A directly adjacent neighboring building was evacuated as a precaution.
Extinguishing work continues
All three floors of the residential building burned out by Tuesday evening. The fire was under control by around 8.30 p.m., but extinguishing work continued until well after midnight. "We can't go into the building at the moment because the ceilings are in danger of collapsing. This also makes it difficult to extinguish the embers, as they keep flaring up," said the fire department spokesperson. The operation will continue until the early hours of the morning. The dead person could also not be rescued from the house until daylight at the earliest.
Around 180 firefighters were on site to fight the fire. The streets around the scene were cordoned off for the extinguishing operation. It was still unclear on Wednesday morning where and why the fire broke out. The police and fire department are still in action, said a police spokesperson.
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- The house fire in Offenbach also affected a nearby building in Hesse, leading to its evacuation as a precautionary measure.
- The fire department in Hesse is currently working to extinguish embers in the burnt-out three-storey building in Offenbach, originally home to over 30 people, including children.
- Following the tragic house fire in Offenbach, officials in Germany are urging residents to regularly check their smoke detectors and fire safety procedures, especially in places like Hesse with high population density.
Source: www.stern.de
