An 81-year-old man has died in an apartment fire above the Sophienhof shopping center in Kiel. Firefighters responded with around 60 personnel after residents reported cries for help and smoke. Two people suffered minor smoke inhalation, while other residents were unharmed.
On Saturday evening around 8:10 p.m., a fire broke out in an apartment on the third floor of a multi-family building above the Sophienhof shopping center in Kiel. Residents heard cries for help and saw smoke and flames coming from a window, as police spokesperson Stephanie Lage reported. The Kiel fire department described the situation as dramatic: an extensive fire with initial reports of multiple missing persons in the partially heavily smoke-filled building.
Around 60 responders from the Kiel professional fire brigade, as well as volunteer fire departments from Russee, Gaarden, Wellsee, and Dietrichsdorf, the rescue service, police, and Kiel public utilities were involved. The building was evacuated, residents were rescued using turntable ladders, and a KVG bus was provided for those affected. The area around Sophienblatt and the main train station was cordoned off for several hours, disrupting bus traffic and attracting onlookers.
During extinguishing efforts, the 81-year-old resident was found dead in his apartment. Two neighbors suffered minor smoke inhalation and were treated on site. The other residents were able to return to their apartments around 11 p.m. after operations concluded. Several other apartments had to be ventilated.
The cause of the fire remains unclear and is being investigated by Commissariat 11 of the Kiel district criminal investigation department. The burned apartment has been seized and is no longer habitable. The fire department escalated the response after reports of missing persons, which ultimately proved unfounded.
