When the first fire truck from the Wiebelskirchen firefighting district arrived only minutes after the alarm was triggered around 4:15 a.m. on Kastanienweg, flames were already shooting out of one of the dormer windows of the one-and-a-half-story house. The three residents – one woman and two men – were waiting outside the house for the fire department. Despite the fire raging in the attic, they had been able to leave their home unharmed. Since all residents were safely accounted for, the firefighters were able to focus on extinguishing the fire from the very first minute of their operation. Their efforts quickly took effect, and the initially dark smoke emerging from beneath the roof tiles gradually gave way to bright white steam.
Despite the rapid extinguishing success, the firefighting operation dragged on. The fire had spread from the rooms in the attic to the roof structure itself. Exhausting efforts were required as the firefighters had to make their way to the last embers in the roof beams from the inside and, with the help of the turntable ladder, also from the outside. Using axes and pike poles, the firefighters managed to open the roof enough to safely extinguish the last remnants of the fire.
It was not until around 6:20 a.m. that the fire brigade was finally able to declare "fire out." Shortly thereafter, the last firefighters were able to conclude their operation on Kastanienweg. At the peak, around 40 firefighters from the Wiebelskirchen and Hangard fire districts were deployed, supported by the turntable ladder from Neunkirchen city center and the command vehicle from Wellesweiler. District fire inspector Michael Sieslack also got an impression of the situation on-site. The emergency services were on scene with an emergency physician and two ambulances from the Workers’ Samaritan Federation (ASB) and Neunkirchen fire department, along with police forces. Due to fire damage, the house had to be disconnected from the electricity and gas network by the energy supplier. It remains uninhabitable until further notice. The police have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.
