Two firefighters died and 11 firefighters injured in explosion during apartment building fire in Poland
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On the night of August 24th to 25th, 2024, a fire broke out in the basement of a four-story apartment building on Kraszewskiego Street in Poznań, Poland, the Polish State Fire Service reports.
During the rescue operations, an explosion occurred, injuring 11 firefighters and 3 civilians—two of whom were passing by the building and one from the residential building itself.
20 people were evacuated from the building affected by the fire, most of whom had already left before the arrival of the fire brigade. This was possible because one of the apartments was equipped with a smoke detector that triggered an alarm and alerted residents to the smoke. An additional 100 people were evacuated from the neighbouring buildings.
Firefighters worked to extinguish the fire, which had engulfed the entire building, including the roof. At the same time, an intensive search was underway for two firefighters who were in the basement at the time of the explosion. To facilitate this, efforts included stabilizing the building, which had lost structural stability after the collapse of its wooden ceilings.
The firefighting efforts involved 100 firefighters and 30 rescue vehicles, including a specialized search and rescue team from Poznań and Łódź.
Tragically, two firefighters, lost their lives during the operations. Both served with the Municipal Fire Department in Poznań.
The injured firefighters were provided with medical care. Four firefighters are currently hospitalized in Poznań, while two others with burns were transported to Siemianowice Śląskie for specialized treatment.
Among those who arrived at the scene were Mr. Wiesław Leśniakiewicz, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration, Ms. Agata Sobczyk, Voivode of Greater Poland, Brigadier General Mariusz Feltynowski, Chief Commander of the State Fire Service (PSP), Brigadier General Józef Galica, Deputy Chief Commander of the PSP, Chief Inspector Roman Kuster, Deputy Commander of the Police, and Mr. Jacek Jaśkowiak, Mayor of Poznań.
Psychologists serving in the PSP were also dispatched to the scene to provide necessary psychological support to the firefighters and their families.
Translated from the press release written in Polish, prepared by:
The Press Department of the Chief Headquarters of the State Fire Service (KG PSP)
Photos by: Section Commander Krzysztof Pisz, Junior Aspirant Jakub Szmaglik
