North Rhine-Westphalia
Two firefighters die in action in Sankt Augustin
Smoke and flames erupt from the motorcycle shop in Sankt Augustin. photo
© Ralf Klodt/dpa
A firefighting operation in a motorcycle shop ends in tragedy: two firefighters are killed. NRW Prime Minister Wüst shows his sympathy. Meanwhile, the clearing work continues.
After a fire with two dead firefighters in Sankt Augustin near Bonn, the extinguishing work has been completed. According to a police spokesman, the clearance work will continue for several days. A fire investigator will have to get an idea on site. The fire in the motorcycle shop broke out last night for reasons that are still unclear.
According to the city, there will still be traffic disruptions in the city center of the Niederpleis district due to the work in the morning. Motorists are asked to drive around the area. A kindergarten will also remain closed.
Sad certainty in the morning hours
In addition to the clearing work at the scene of the fire, the city of Sankt Augustin and the entire state of North Rhine-Westphalia are in deep mourning: two firefighters were initially missing during the extinguishing operation. In the early hours of the morning there was certainty, because both were found dead during the salvage work, as the city announced on Facebook.
The two missing are a man and a woman from the volunteer fire department, Mayor Max Leitterstorf said on Sunday afternoon. “This tragic event shocks and stuns us all,” he said after the bodies were found. “First and foremost, our thoughts and sympathy are with the families and relatives of the two and their comrades from the Sankt Augustin volunteer fire brigade,” it said. The city will never forget the two members of the fire brigade.
Wüst expresses sympathy
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) also expressed his sympathy on Twitter. “It is with deep sadness that we commemorate the courageous firefighters who lost their lives in a mission in Sankt Augustin today.” Your selfless commitment deserves the greatest respect, he continued. His condolences go to the bereaved.
The German Fire Brigade Association was also affected. “We are shaken!” Wrote association president Karl-Heinz Banse on Twitter. His thoughts are with the families of the deceased.
More than 200 emergency services were on site to extinguish the fire in the motorcycle shop with an adjacent workshop. Eleven of them were injured, five of the injured were taken to hospitals. The injuries also had something to do with the great heat yesterday. The cause of fire was unclear for the moment.
After the incident, the entire Sankt Augustin volunteer fire department was put out of service, said Leitterstorf. Firefighters from other municipalities would have taken over the extinguishing work.
The fire department was alerted at around 11:18 a.m. The scene of the fire was in a central street with residential buildings and shops. Residents have been asked to keep windows and doors closed, the spokesman said. A message was sent for this, among other things, via the warning app “Nina”.