North Rhine-Westphalia
Report: Fire intentionally set in Solingen house with four dead
Four people died in the apartment fire in Solingen early Monday morning
© David Young / DPA
The dramatic major fire in an apartment building in Solingen, in which four people died, was apparently caused by arson. The investigators see no evidence of a xenophobic motive.
According to a preliminary report, the major fire in an apartment building in Solingen with four deaths was caused by intentional arson. The Wuppertal public prosecutor announced this on Wednesday. A father, a mother and two children from a Bulgarian family were killed in the fire on Monday morning. The parents were 28 and 29 years old, the children were almost three years old and an infant was only five months old. Another nine people were taken to hospitals with injuries of varying severity.
Fire in Solingen spread from the stairwell
According to the information, the fire started in the stairwell of the old building. The fire spread to the roof within five minutes due to a so-called chimney effect. “Clear remains of an accelerant” were found in the wooden stairwell. Based on this finding, “intentional arson” must be assumed. However, there is no evidence of a “xenophobic motive”. This was announced by the Wuppertal public prosecutor Heribert Kaune-Gebhardt.
When the fire brigade arrived, the wooden stairwell was already fully ablaze, meaning the escape route was blocked. Several residents jumped out of the windows in panic. The fire department deployed up to 120 emergency services.
Fire experts inspected the house, which had become uninhabitable, on Tuesday to clarify the cause of the fire. The first assessment by the experts was “clear,” the public prosecutor said.
The public is called upon to help resolve the major fire. The Wuppertal public prosecutor’s office asks all citizens who can provide information to call 0202 284 1122.