Hamburg – Three patients aged 84, 85 and 87 died on Sunday at a fire in the Marienkrankenhaus in Hamburg. Shortly after midnight, the fire had been discovered in a geriatric room. Around 220 forces were in use.

At 0.23 a.m. the emergency call was received in the rescue control center of the Hamburg fire brigade. The responsible dispatcher then sent a large contingent of forces from the fire brigade and the emergency services to the Marienkrankenhaus in the Hohenfelde district. When arriving, a patient room on the ground floor of the clinic was already in full fire. The fire threatened to overlay over the outer facade into the room above on the first floor. At the same time, several people of the stations on it were noticeable on the windows because they could no longer leave their rooms due to the fire smoke.

“The head of operations increased the alarm keyword and requested further fire trucks and a variety of emergency services to support,” says the Hamburg fire brigade. Due to the high number of affected people, the alarm keyword was adapted to a mass attack on injuries and various emergency services and disaster protection units of the aid organizations were alerted to the site.

Human rescue via turntable ladders and portable ladders

The firefighters immediately began to rescue people over aerial conductors, portable ladders and the corridors of the individual stations. To make matters worse, it was primarily older patients who were older, disoriented and restricted mobility. On both sides of the building, the rescue service saw the rescued. The initial supplies also took place here. The clinic staff supported the evacuation and medical care of those affected.

Some of the injuries could be treated in the in -house emergency room. Two people were brought to the surrounding Hamburg clinics for further care. Overall, the fire called for a life-threatening person, 18 seriously and 15 slightly injured people. Three people died at the site.

The actual fire fighting only took around 20 minutes. Then the fire was completely deleted. The powers used were able to prevent the flames to spread to other patient rooms. The ventilation measures in all areas continued until the morning.

Investigators of the State Criminal Police Office already examined how the fire occurred on Sunday. In the evening, the police said that a 72-year-old patient was arrested on suspicion of arson.