– Fire in a single-family home causes extensive property damage
A fire in Männedorf did not cause any injuries. However, residents had to be temporarily evacuated for safety reasons.
Published: March 31, 2024, 4:57 p.m
The Männedorf-Uetikon and Stäfa fire departments were on site with several vehicles.
Photo: Michael Trost
There isn’t much left of the roof of the single-family home on Aufdorfstrasse in Männedorf. A large part of the charred roof tiles has slipped and exposed the skeleton of the attic, as an on-site inspection shows.
A fire broke out in the house shortly after 4 p.m. on Sunday, according to Ralph Hirt, media spokesman for the cantonal police. There was a woman in the house at the time – she was able to escape from the burning house on her own before the emergency services arrived. She remained unhurt.
The single-family home is no longer habitable after the fire.
Photo: Michael Trost
The column of smoke was also clearly visible from the other side of the lake.
Photo: André Springer
The house may be uninhabitable, but all in all it still seems to have been a blessing in disguise. The fire brigade was on site very quickly, as Hirt says. This is no coincidence, as the house is practically diagonally opposite the Männedörfler fire station. In addition, although the houses were very close together, the fire did not spread to the neighboring buildings.
Roof in full fire
“The roof was fully ablaze when we arrived,” says Andreas Kuster, operations manager for the Männedorf-Uetikon fire department. Around 60 firefighters – including from the Stäfa fire department – fought the flames, using, among other things, two turntable ladders.
“In the meantime, we had evacuated a good dozen residents,” adds Hirt. The fire resulted in heavy smoke. Alert Swiss therefore advised locking windows and doors and turning off ventilation and air conditioning. This warning was lifted again around 6 p.m. The residents were also able to return to their homes after a short time.
The flames caused material damage amounting to several hundred thousand francs. The woman who lived in the house is now staying with relatives. The cause of the fire is currently unclear.
Matthias Schmid is site manager for the Zurich regional newspapers.More informationPhilippa Schmidt As an editor, she deals with the Lake Zurich region, where she grew up.More information
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