Overview
- Berlin firefighters battled a high‑rise cellar fire in Spandau that filled the stairwell with smoke, sent one person to hospital and drew roughly 100 responders, with the cause still unknown.
- Fatal house fires over the holiday left an 88‑year‑old woman dead in Dortmund and a 64‑year‑old man dead in Petersaurach, while freezing temperatures in Dortmund caused firefighting water to ice over.
- Investigations span suspected arson in Leipzig vehicle fires and a burned caravan near Hasselfelde, confirmed negligence from forgotten Advent candles in Kellmünz, and a table‑firework balcony blaze under probe in Ingolstadt.
- Dortmund police are examining gunfire at a private home linked by investigators to the rocker scene and a separate street shooting that wounded a 27‑year‑old man, with an investigative commission active.
- At University Hospital Gießen a patient was shot dead by police after an alleged attack on officers, and the case is under review.