Following a major fire at a refugee accommodation center in the western German town of Schleiden, police have arrested a 35-year-old Algerian resident of the facility as a key suspect. In total, 16 residents of the facility suffered injuries in the blaze. Many more had to be rehoused.
Homicide investigators have opened a case against the suspect with charges of attempted murder in seven cases, aggravated arson and dangerous bodily harm, according to local police sources. However, the exact cause of the blaze is not yet established.
"Parts of the refugee accommodation center, located in a former military barracks in Vogelsang, a district of Schleiden in the Eifel National Park, North Rhine-Westphalia, were completely destroyed by flames reaching several meters in height. Firefighters arrived on the scene around midday on November 23 but were unable to save large portions of the complex."
Two adjacent houses have also become uninhabitable for the time being due to smoke and water damage.
Part of the reason why the fire brigade’s response was insufficient was due to difficulties in water supply in this remote region of the Eifel nature reserve. Fire engines had to transport water from other villages to the scene.
Furthermore, snowfall from the previous days also made access to the scene more difficult, requiring snow tractors to help create access paths to the facility by plowing up to 30 centimeters of snowfall away from the main road leading to the facility.
According to the regional public broadcaster WDR, there were more than 110 personnel were involved in the operation, in addition to many local volunteers as well as local aid groups.
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Nearly 60 people rehomed
In total, there were around 380 people currently housed at the refugee facility. The fire started in the roof of one of the buildings in which 18 people were living at the time, the majority of whom required medical attention following the incident.
Ten residents of the facility were taken to nearby hospitals, while another six residents received immediate treatments on site. Initially, the number of injured had been reported as 20, which was amended later.
All the people inside the complex were brought to safety in time, according to police reports. Some were reported to have been asleep at the time of the incident.
According to local mayor Ingo Pfenning, 57 residents of the facility were ultimately affected by the blaze and had to be accommodated elsewhere by the district government in Cologne. They were transferred mainly to the local towns of Euskirchen and Marmagen.
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Second blaze in less than a year
At the beginning of 2024, there had been another fire at the same refugee accommodation center, the cause of which has not been fully established yet.
However, in both the earlier cases from January as well as in the blaze that took place on November 23, authorities say they are operating under the working assumption of arson being the cause.
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With EPD, dpa