Zurich Affoltern Fire in apartment building - three people in hospital
A fire broke out in the middle of the night in Zurich-Affoltern - flames quickly spread through an apartment building. Three people have to go to hospital with suspected smoke inhalation.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- During the night, a fire broke out in an apartment building in Zurich Affoltern, which quickly spread from one apartment across the façade to several floors.
- The fire department was able to contain the fire quickly, but had to fight embers in the façade at great expense.
- Three people were taken to hospital with suspected smoke inhalation; the cause of the fire is still unclear.
A fire broke out in an apartment building in Zurich Affoltern on Wednesday night. The fire department deployed a large number of firefighters. Three people had to be taken to hospital with suspected smoke inhalation. This was reported by Zurich Protection & Rescue in a press release.
Shortly before 00.30 a.m., an emergency call was received by the operations control center of Schutz & Rettung Zürich (SRZ). A fire was reported on a balcony. The first emergency services arrived to find a ground-floor apartment that was already fully engulfed in flames.
The fire spread across the façade within a few minutes. The upper floors were also engulfed by the flames. The fire department laid several extinguishing lines through the stairwell and simultaneously fought the flames from the outside with aerial ladders.
Rapid response from the emergency services
Thanks to the rapid response, the fire was quickly contained. However, the firefighters discovered pockets of embers in the façade. These had to be sawn open to prevent the fire from flaring up again.
The residents of the affected house and the neighboring building had already taken themselves to safety or were evacuated by the police. The fire department also searched the apartments for other people using breathing apparatus.
Three people in hospital
Several people were examined and given initial treatment on site by the emergency services and an emergency doctor. Three people were subsequently taken to hospital with suspected smoke inhalation.
The affected apartment was severely damaged by the fire and is currently uninhabitable. The cause of the fire is still unclear and is being investigated by the police.
The SRZ professional fire department, the rescue service with emergency doctor and the Zurich city police were on duty for several hours.
