Fire Fatal jump from fire apartment – police determined
Fire brigade forces in action in the high-rise building in Berlin-Kreuzberg that caught fire. photo
© Annette Riedl/dpa
They probably had no chance: Two people want to save themselves from their burning apartment on the twelfth floor and jump down. But at a height of 30 meters, a safety cushion is of little help.
After the fatal jump of two people from a burning high-rise apartment in Berlin-Kreuzberg, the police as to why the fire started. Emergency services were still on site as of Friday evening. An eyewitness spoke of trauma. Several residents had watched the drama for minutes. The fire brigade offered help from pastors, also for their own forces.
Two people jumped from the twelfth floor of a 15-story building on Friday afternoon to escape the fire in their apartment. Despite resuscitation, they died on the spot, as a fire department spokesman said. Although the fire brigade prepared a safety cushion and a turntable ladder on site, the two probably had no chance. The safety cushion is designed for a maximum of 16 meters, but the twelfth floor means a height of more than 30 meters, said the fire department spokesman.
Wrongly parked cars would have delayed the extension of a turntable ladder, he added. However, even the turntable ladder is not sufficient for this height. “In a high-rise building, the escape route is inside,” said the spokesman. Ordinarily, one would not try to rescue someone from that height from the outside.
116 emergency services on site
In the evening, the fire brigade spoke of only two adults among the dead. The identity was unclear. According to a witness, it was a man and a woman. A witness who lives on the ground floor of the house across the street told the German Press Agency that he noticed the fire and alerted the fire brigade. He heard calls for help from the fire in the apartment. The woman jumped very quickly to escape from the flames. The man first clung to the balcony and then let go.
According to the fire department, the fire was extinguished after a good half hour around 5:06 p.m. At the top, 116 emergency services were on site. The fire did not spread to other apartments in the concrete house. But the floors above the fire apartment were loaded with smoke. Several residents got themselves to safety via the stairs.
The residential building is located on Lindenstrasse – not far from the Jewish Museum, which is also known to many tourists.
dpa
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