Overview

• The fire broke out around 20:20 Wednesday evening in the basement of a five-storey apartment building on Bodelschwinghstraße in Schwetzingen.
• Heavy smoke spread to upper floors and toward the nearby GRN-Klinikum clinic, prompting a full evacuation of the building.
• Emergency crews used escape hoods to lead several residents to safety and treated twelve for cough and eye irritation without hospitalisation.
• Two ground-floor apartments were declared uninhabitable, leaving tenants to stay with family or friends.
• Polizei Schwetzingen has launched an investigation into the fire’s cause as damage estimates reach several tens of thousands of euros.