Overview
- The blaze began early Friday morning on the 11th floor of a 21‑storey block on Straße der Pariser Kommune in Friedrichshain and climbed to higher floors, forcing a large-scale evacuation.
- A resident perched on an 11th‑floor ledge and, because the fire service’s aerial lift only reached the ninth floor, jumped into a narrow rescue basket and was brought down to safety while video of the leap spread online.
- Reports vary on casualties: several outlets say about 13 people suffered mostly minor injuries with five taken to hospital, while at least one publication put the injured total at five; crews said they had the fire under control in under three hours.
- A separate fire in Reinickendorf’s Märkisches Viertel affected a 10‑storey block, left six of 96 flats uninhabitable and required additional evacuations and one hospital transfer.
- Authorities have opened an investigation into the Friedrichshain blaze and the episode highlights limits of aerial rescue equipment, possible short‑term housing displacement for evacuated residents, and the need to review high‑rise rescue plans.