Eschwege (dpa/lhe) - A nine-year-old boy and a twelve-year-old girl are suspected of starting a fire in a residential building in downtown Eschwege (Werra-Meißner district). The fire led to a large-scale operation by the fire brigade and police last Friday, who were able to prevent it from spreading to neighboring buildings. As the police announced on Thursday, the exact course of events is still being determined, but it can be assumed that the children started the fire.
After a technical defect could be ruled out as a possible cause of the fire, various testimonies led the investigators to the children. They are said to have ignited in the workshop on the ground floor of the burned-down building and thus caused the fire to break out. In a survey, they had largely admitted the allegations, the police said.
It took 60 firefighters to fight the fire. No one was injured, but the workshop burned down completely and the upper floor of the building was also damaged. Overall, the material damage incurred is in the estimated five-digit range. The children are not criminally responsible.
