Overview

• Multiple waste containers ignited outside an entryway on Kleine Stäubenstraße around 04:23, sending smoke into the stairwell and catching the building’s façade.
• Firefighters used a turntable ladder and portable ladders to rescue 13 residents, including three children, who had signaled for help at windows.
• No injuries were reported, and Ruhrbahn provided a bus to keep residents warm during the response.
• Crews opened roughly 25 square meters of façade to access smouldering hotspots, and the state environment agency collected asbestos samples.
• About 25 personnel from professional stations and the Essen-Mitte volunteer unit responded, residents later returned to their apartments, and police inquiries are underway.