In Sauerland Arnsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia at least three people have been killed by a fire. The fire had spread from the first floor to the roof, said a spokesman for the police early Wednesday afternoon. The use in the area of the station is still on.
In a similar fire a few days ago in the Palatine Lambrecht five people had died. According to a first assessment by an expert, the fire in this case should have been triggered by tobacco residues in the garbage.
From the household waste, the fire has spread to the attic apartment, said the prosecutor Frankenthal and the police in Ludwigshafen. The remains of the tobacco had been disposed of improperly. There were no indications of a technical defect, said the chief prosecutor, Hubert Ströber, in Frankenthal.
The detailed opinion of the expert is not yet available. Last night's fire had killed three men between the ages of 43 and 54 and two 54-year-old women. The investigators assume that all the dead are Polish citizens.
DPA
Burnt-out attic of the multi-family house in Lambrecht
There were several apartment fires in the past that caused a sensation nationwide:
- In October 2015, four residents were killed in a fire in an attic apartment in Pforzheim (Baden-Württemberg) - presumably due to the incorrect use of a radiant heater.
- In March 2013, one woman and seven of her children between the ages of 6 months and 17 years died in a home fire in Backnang, Baden-Württemberg. In this case too, the householders accidentally caused the fire themselves, according to investigators.