Fires
The Solingen fire was arson: the family had no chance
Four people died in the major fire in an apartment building in Solingen. photo
© Oliver Berg/dpa
It is a tragedy with terrible details: an entire family perishes in a fire at home. Two small children die with their parents. Everything points to an insidious crime.
An entire family with small children was killed in a devastating fire in an apartment building earlier this week – now it has emerged that a criminal background must be assumed.
“Remnants of an accelerant were clearly detected” in the wooden stairwell, the public prosecutor reported Heribert Kaune-Gebhardt in Wuppertal. “Based on this finding, it must therefore be assumed that the fire was set intentionally.” The investigation is now underway into allegations of murder or attempted murder.
Parents die with toddler and five-month-old baby
On the night of Monday to Tuesday, the drama also deeply affected the firefighters who were desperately fighting against the blazing flames: they were no longer able to save the young family from the attic. Although formal identification is still pending, it can be assumed that the dead were a family from Bulgaria, said the public prosecutor. Particularly shocking: the 28 and 29-year-old parents died together with their three-year-old toddler and an infant who was only five months old.
The baby’s body was found hours after the other family members in the badly burned attic. A sniffer dog was also ultimately used in the search. “There can hardly be any consolation for them,” said the head of the city of Solingen’s public order department in a condolence message to the bereaved.
No chance of escape
From the position of the deceased found, the conclusion can be drawn that the family did not die in their sleep, but rather tried to escape, Kaune-Gebhardt described the findings. “However, none of the residents were able to escape through the stairwell.”
The death came quickly: the fire expert determined that the fire started in the stairwell. “Due to the wooden construction and the chimney effect it creates, the fire is likely to have burned through to the roof within a few minutes to five minutes.”
The morning after the fatal fire, neighbors reported to journalists about cries for help and about residents who, in fear of death, jumped out of the 100-year-old burning building onto the street after the fire broke out at around 2:46 a.m. A number of people were seriously injured. When the fire brigade arrived, the wooden stairwell was already ablaze.
No “xenophobic motive” apparent
“There is currently no suspicion of a crime against a specific person,” said the public prosecutor. “There are no indications that point to a xenophobic motive.” Further details about the circumstances of the crime cannot currently be provided for tactical reasons.
The catastrophic fire awakened bad memories for many Solingen residents: In May 1993, five women and girls of Turkish origin were murdered in a nighttime arson attack with a right-wing extremist background. Fire accelerant was also used. The Solingen attack marked the low point of a wave of racist attacks on people of foreign origin in Germany.
Police and public prosecutors are asking witnesses for help
The investigators are now relying on observations from the population and have activated a tip line (0202 284 1122) and a corresponding online portal. In addition to the family killed, many other neighbors are victims. “The tenants on the third floor also suffered very serious injuries from the fire and from jumping onto the street,” said the public prosecutor responsible for capital crimes. “They are still in intensive care.” According to a statement from the city of Solingen, there are three seriously injured people. According to the prosecutor, another five people from the first and second floors suffered “less intense injuries.”