Two people jumped to their deaths while fleeing a fire on the twelfth floor of a Berlin skyscraper. Despite resuscitation, they died at the scene of the accident, as a fire department spokesman said. According to a witness, it was a man and a woman. The fire department said nothing about the identity and only spoke of two adults. Another person was rescued unharmed via the stairwell.
The fire broke out on Friday afternoon around 4:27 p.m. in the apartment of the two people on the twelfth floor of the building with a total of 15 floors in Berlin-Kreuzberg. When the fire brigade arrived, the two people in the fire apartment made loud noises, according to the spokesman. Flames blazed behind them, according to the mission report.
“When they were at the window, they could still move and communicate – of course because they jumped too – but then jumped,” said the fire department spokesman on site. In the rbb evening show, he added that the safety cushion used by the fire brigade is suitable for a height of up to 16 meters. However, the twelfth floor means a height of more than 30 meters. “At some point you reach the limits of what is possible with a rescue device,” he said. The two people were treated by paramedics. But they died on the spot.
The fire brigade spokesman told the German Press Agency that wrongly parked cars had delayed the extension of a turntable ladder. However, even the turntable ladder is not sufficient for this height. “In a high-rise building, the escape route is inside,” said the spokesman. Ordinarily, one would not try to rescue someone from that height from the outside. After the jump, the two people were treated by paramedics. But they died on the spot.
Mariusz S. hat alles mitangesehen
The witness Mariusz S., who lives on the ground floor of the house opposite, told the German Press Agency that he noticed the fire and alerted the fire brigade. He heard calls for help from the fire in the apartment. The woman then jumped very quickly to escape from the flames. The man initially clung to the balcony. But then he let go before the fire brigade could open the safety cushion completely.
The witness said that what happened was traumatic for him. A neighbor who saw everything said: “My heart hurts.” The fire brigade had psychological counselors on site.
Cleared four floors of the skyscraper
According to the fire brigade, the fire was already extinguished after a good half hour at around 5:06 p.m. At the top, 116 emergency services were on site. The fire did not spread to other apartments in the concrete house. But the floors above the fire apartment were loaded with smoke. According to the police, four floors of the building were cleared and electricity and gas were shut off. On other floors, a dpa reporter saw people at the window and on a balcony.
The residential building is located on Lindenstrasse in Berlin-Kreuzberg – not far from the Jewish Museum, which is also known to many tourists.
