Four residents died in a fire in a retirement home in Bedburg-Hau, Lower Rhine, on Monday morning. In addition, at least 23 people were injured, 21 of whom were residents, said a police spokeswoman in Kleve. A firefighter and a police officer were so seriously injured that they were taken to the hospital. They were released there a little later.
In addition to the injured, 46 other residents were evacuated and their health status is now being checked. “It cannot be ruled out that there will be more injured people: it was a big shock for them.”
The fire that broke out during the night has now been extinguished and extinguishing work is still ongoing. The cause of the fire is still unclear, said the police spokeswoman. Detectives are on site to begin the investigation. A spokeswoman for the retirement home operator Newcare did not want to comment on the fire for the time being.
North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) was dismayed after the fire. “This tragedy is simply terrible and touches you. My thoughts are with those affected and their relatives, I wish the injured a speedy recovery,” wrote the North Rhine-Westphalian head of government on Monday afternoon on the online platform X (formerly Twitter). At the same time, he thanked the emergency services and other helpers.
The area around the retirement home was cordoned off on Monday morning. A hearse drove up and away. Residents initially sat either outside on benches and chairs, where they were cared for by paramedics, or inside in another part of the large building that was undamaged by the fire. They were then taken in buses to a multi-purpose gymnasium as alternative accommodation.
It is now being clarified how severe the damage to the retirement home building is. A decision will be made during the day as to whether the residents can go back to their rooms, said the police spokeswoman. If that is not possible, they would be distributed to other retirement homes.
Minister Reul thanks emergency services
WDR had previously reported. When the fire department arrived at around 5 a.m., the situation was dramatic, reported WDR, citing a fire department spokesman. Firefighters would have had to break windows to save residents.
Just a few hours after the fire, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) rushed to the scene to get a first-hand look. After viewing the scene of the fire, he was affected: “It blows your mind, it makes you think, it makes you sad,” said Reul.
“This is a very depressing situation.” He thanked the police and fire departments who were quickly at the fire and did a very good job. “I find it impressive how they mastered everything and got the fire under control relatively quickly and saved the vast majority of people.”
Bedburg-Hau is located on the lower Lower Rhine in the Kleve district (North Rhine-Westphalia) – close to the border with the Netherlands. The community has a good 13,000 inhabitants.
Patient advocates demand better fire protection
Time and time again, there are dire consequences when fires break out in nursing homes. Three people died when a fire broke out in a nursing home for mentally ill people in Reutlingen (Baden-Württemberg) in January 2013 – they had suffered smoke inhalation. Twelve other people were injured. A mentally ill woman set her bedclothes on fire. There was also a fire with three deaths in a retirement home in Wardenburg near Oldenburg (Lower Saxony) in September 2022. According to information at the time, ten other seniors were injured.
Eugen Brysch from the German Patient Protection Foundation took the tragic incident in Bedburg-Hau as an opportunity to generally point out the situation in the nursing sector. “The number of fires in nursing homes remains at a consistently high level; in the first three months of this year alone there were 26 fires,” explained the foundation board. “This makes it obvious that the regulations for preventative fire protection in the 16,000 care facilities are not sufficient.”
He calls for a legal requirement that every patient and staff room should be equipped with independent extinguishing systems. “This technology reacts to heat or smoke and thus combats both incipient fires and uncontrolled smoke gas development at an early stage.” Most residents simply couldn’t get themselves to safety. “Sprinkler systems could save lives here and significantly minimize property damage,” said Brysch. “What has long been standard in furniture stores and warehouses must also apply in nursing homes.”
