Major operation in Spreitenbach AG 13 people injured in fire, one person seriously

On Monday morning, the cantonal rescue services were deployed to an 11-storey apartment block in Spreitenbach in the canton of Aargau. The residents had to be evacuated due to a fire and the associated heavy smoke development. The Aargau cantonal police reported 13 casualties and one serious injury.

A total of 14 people were injured in the fire in an eleven-storey block of flats on Bahnhofstrasse in Spreitenbach AG. The spokeswoman for the Aargau cantonal police said on Monday morning that one of the injured was still seriously injured in the fire. The person was seriously injured and flown to hospital by helicopter.

Initially, the police had assumed that 19 people were injured. They were also taken to hospital for checks. Five of them recovered quickly. Fresh air sometimes helps with smoke poisoning, said a police spokeswoman.

As media spokesman Pascal Wenzel reported to "Blick", an automatic fire alarm system went off in the apartment building at 4 am. The fire department was called out and heavy smoke was detected. "We were able to evacuate 31 people unharmed," says Wenzel.

The fire, which broke out in the entrance area on the first floor, was quickly extinguished and posed no great danger, according to the cantonal police statement. Nevertheless, one hundred emergency services were still on site at the time of the announcement, as thick smoke was spreading through all the apartments, explained Winkler.

Initially, the stairwell had to be cleared of smoke to ensure the safety of the evacuated people. The residents have since been able to return to their homes. The cause of the fire is still unclear. The Aargau cantonal police are investigating in all directions. The property damage is extensive.

83-year-old resident Vita Marchese-Lindo was woken from her sleep by the alarm: "Suddenly I heard the siren. I opened the door and a cloud of smoke came in. I was very scared," she tells Blick in her apartment on the eighth floor. She quickly put something on over her pyjamas and left the apartment as quickly as possible.

"You couldn't see anything in the stairwell. We went upstairs. You could still see something." But the escape door was locked and could not be opened with the apartment key, reports the resident. "Luckily, the neighbor used a hammer to break down the door to the other part of the house. So we could breathe," says the senior citizen, describing the situation.

Lindo's son Marco Lindo (48) is now demanding a fire door "that people can open". In the event of a fire, the administration has recommended that residents use the stairs.

However, Marchese-Lindo is dependent on the elevator due to her knee prostheses. As this is not working at the moment, she will probably be staying with her daughter for the time being.

SDA