Overview
- On the A2 between Gelsenkirchen and Herten, a lorry carrying bakery goods burned out under a controlled operation, the driver was unharmed and lanes were closed for cleanup.
- A separate A2 fire near Bornstedt destroyed about 24 tonnes of parcels, the 50-year-old driver disconnected the tractor unit and was uninjured as police excluded third-party involvement and closed the Berlin-bound carriageway for hours.
- In Erfurt, a top-floor flat fire that ignited stored New Year’s fireworks left the 23-year-old resident with severe burns and two others with smoke injuries, with several apartments now uninhabitable and damage estimated in the high five figures.
- A smouldering apartment fire in Landsberg resulted in one death, with fire investigators assessing the cause and a neighbor treated for smoke inhalation.
- In Ansbach, an explosion on a parkhouse deck produced a six-to-seven-metre flame, investigators found pyrotechnic remnants and a liquid, and the Kriminalpolizei appealed for witnesses and warned against unsafe use of fireworks.