A roof structure on a building on Schulstrasse in the Neuhausen district caught fire on Monday. Volunteer fire departments and professional fire departments had to put out the flames with up to 150 emergency services, and the all-clear was given in the afternoon. Fire rescuers remained on site and the operation continued into the evening. According to the fire department, some of the apartments in the five-story corner building are no longer habitable. The damage could run into the millions. The police are investigating the cause of the fire.
The smoke rising from the house was visible from afar in the early afternoon, and the area smelled strongly of smoke, an eyewitness said. According to the fire department, the building is currently being renovated and is surrounded by scaffolding. The residents were able to get to safety in time, as were the construction workers. Nobody was injured. Firefighters had asked residents to keep windows and doors closed. The warning has now been lifted.
The fire department was able to bring the fire under control after three hours, but then had to extinguish remaining embers in the building. The work was complex because parts of the roof and dormers had to be opened with special saws. New embers kept appearing, it says in a statement. In the evening, the emergency services were still busy removing fire-fighting water from the apartments.
By early evening, the emergency services had used around 90 respiratory protective devices. Working outside in the heat apparently made them even more difficult: a firefighter who was working in the basket of the turntable ladder collapsed during the operation and was taken to a clinic. The 37-year-old is now doing well again, according to the fire department.