Two people died and three others were seriously injured in a fire in a three-story residential building in downtown Offenbach. The fatalities include a small child and a person who has not yet been identified, as the fire department announced this morning.
The child was initially rescued from the burning house by emergency services, but later died in hospital.
The still unknown victim could not be rescued from the flames. “It was so hot that the emergency services had to withdraw,” said a fire department spokesman. “Such a situation 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 clinics with burn injuries and smoke inhalation. According to initial findings, more than 30 people lived in the three-story building, a police spokesman said. A directly adjacent building was evacuated as a precaution.
Extinguishing work is ongoing
All three floors of the house burned down by Tuesday evening. The fire was under control by 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 creates problems putting out the embers, as they keep flaring up,” said the fire department spokesman. The operation will last 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. Due to the firefighting operation, the streets around your location were cordoned off in large areas. Where and why the fire broke out was still unclear on Wednesday morning. The police and fire brigade are still on duty, said a police spokesman.
