Overview
- Firefighters in Essen-Steele rescued ten people during a night operation after flames and heavy smoke cut off escape routes in a multi-family building.
- Five residents were taken to hospitals with suspected smoke inhalation and one firefighter was injured during a ladder rescue.
- The Essen building was declared uninhabitable due to extensive smoke damage, with 21 residents evacuated and sheltered in a Ruhrbahn bus as the three-hour operation concluded around 6 a.m.
- In Duisburg’s Citywohnpark, a 66-year-old resident died in a sixth-floor apartment fire, and a preliminary autopsy confirmed he died as a result of the blaze.
- The exact cause of the Duisburg fire remains unclear, though investigators ruled out a technical defect, and two other residents assessed for smoke inhalation showed no health impairments.