Overview

• The blaze broke out shortly before midnight on Leibnizstraße in the Untermhaus district, with flames shooting from a second-floor window.
• A 26-year-old resident escaped by jumping into an inflatable rescue cushion after tram overhead lines delayed deployment of a ladder truck.
• Two other residents, including a 74-year-old woman, were rescued unconscious with extensive burns and all three were intubated at the scene.
• The severely injured were flown to specialist burn centers in Halle (Saale), Leipzig and Nuremberg, and another injured person was taken to Gera’s municipal hospital.
• Firefighters extinguished the blaze, the burned apartment was declared uninhabitable with damage to other units under review, streets and tram service were closed during the response, and a crisis team assisted evacuees.