North Rhine-Westphalia
Four dead in fire in retirement home
Traces of soot and burns on the facade. photo
© Christoph Reichwein/dpa
Major operation for the fire brigade in Bedburg-Hau in the Lower Rhine region: fire breaks out in a senior citizens’ residence during the night. According to initial information, four people die and several more are injured.
One person’s life is in danger, a firefighter and a police officer were seriously injured, and 15 other people were slightly injured. It was said that 46 residents of the retirement home had to be evacuated. The cause of the fire is still unclear.
WDR had previously reported. When the fire brigade arrived at around 5 a.m., the situation was dramatic, reported WDR, citing a fire brigade spokesman. Firefighters sometimes had to break windows to save residents.
According to WDR information, the fire had spread to such an extent that the firefighters could no longer access parts of the two-story building.
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.
Fires in nursing homes
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.