Five firefighters injured during operation in Wellritzstraße
Shortly before 2 a.m. tonight, a fire was reported to the Wiesbaden fire department control center in Wellritzstraße in Wiesbaden's Westend district. The caller reported burning garbage cans in a passageway to the backyard of the building. The control center then dispatched emergency crews from the professional fire department and the volunteer fire department in the city center.
When the emergency services arrived, several garbage cans were on fire in the passageway. A team wearing breathing apparatus used a jet pipe to fight the fire. While fighting the fire, an approximately 10 square meter section of the ceiling cladding came loose and buried a firefighter underneath it. He was freed by several colleagues and brought to safety.
A total of five firefighters were injured as a result of this incident and during the rescue work. The colleagues suffered burns and slight smoke inhalation which required treatment by the emergency services and transportation to hospitals in Wiesbaden and Offenbach.
The fire was quickly brought under control by other emergency services. The emergency services also checked the adjacent stairwell and other parts of the building for smoke. The smoke found there was removed from the building using ventilation equipment.
Around 30 firefighters and 11 members of the emergency services were deployed. The police were called in to investigate the cause of the fire. (jh)
The publisher of this press release is the fire department of the state capital Wiesbaden.