Offenbach
Two dead and three seriously injured after house fire
All three floors of the house burned down. photo
© Andreas Arnold/dpa
Two people die in a fire in a residential building in Offenbach. Among them is a child who can initially be rescued from the flames. Three other people suffer serious injuries.
Two people died and three others were seriously injured in the fire in a three-story commercial and residential building in downtown Offenbach. The fatalities include a small child and a person who has not yet been identified Fire department announced on Wednesday. The child was initially rescued from the burning house by emergency services on Tuesday evening, but later died in hospital. The cause of death will be clarified in an autopsy, the police and public prosecutor’s office said.
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.” The body, which was on an upper floor, was expected to be recovered on Wednesday afternoon. Other residents were reportedly rescued.
There were five people in the house at the time of the fire. The three survivors, a 14-year-old and two women aged 40 and 45, were taken to clinics with significant burn injuries and smoke inhalation. There was no danger to their lives.
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. A large contingent of fire brigade, rescue services and police were on site and the area of the fire was cordoned off. The residents and relatives of the victims were offered psychological support.
All three floors of the house burned down. The fire was reported around 5:30 p.m. and the fire department had the flames under control three hours later. The extinguishing work continued until well after midnight. The building was initially in danger of collapsing; according to the police report, it was an “uninhabitable fire ruin”. A structural engineer should check when the house can be accessed. The damage could not initially be quantified, and the cause and origin of the flames were still unclear. The police had no evidence of arson. She hoped for information from witnesses.