Mönchengladbach (dpa / lnw) - In an apartment fire in an apartment building in Mönchengladbach-Rheydt, numerous residents suffered smoke poisoning on Thursday. A total of 14 people suspected of having received emergency medical care, reported the Mönchengladbach fire brigade. 13 of them were then transported to nearby hospitals for further treatment.
The fire brigade was alerted at noon because of a fire in a ground floor apartment. When the emergency services arrived at the scene of the fire, they were already met with flames from the balcony area of the apartment. The smoke from the fire enveloped the entire facade of the seven-story building.
One person had to be rescued from the smoke-filled stairwell. Five other people were brought to safety by the fire brigade with the help of so-called fire escape hoods from their apartment on the fifth floor. Several other residents had already left the home.
