Hof (dpa / lby) - In a major fire in Hof on Monday evening, a building complex in the city center caught fire. According to initial estimates, the damage was in the millions, according to the police. "The rescue service took care of five slightly injured people, some of whom had to be treated in a hospital with smoke poisoning," it said. In the evening, the fire brigade had the fire under control - but it had not yet been extinguished.
According to initial findings, the fire broke out in the backyard of a terraced house, the police said. The block of flats was mostly completely burned out - the roof truss had collapsed. "The fire later spread to the adjacent house numbers," it said in a statement. The fire department is trying to prevent further spread.
Several fire brigades were on site with numerous emergency services to extinguish the fire. Three rescue helicopters were also deployed as a precaution, and another police helicopter supported the extinguishing work with live images from the air. According to the police, more than 250 people were deployed at peak times.
Accommodation options were organized at short notice for the affected residents of the multi-family houses. In addition, the Jahnhalle is being prepared as an emergency shelter. A police spokeswoman spoke of around 40 to 50 people who had gathered at a contact point. The cause of the fire was initially unclear.
