A fire in the Uni-Center Cologne, which is considered one of the largest residential buildings in Europe, injured 14 people on Thursday evening. They had mild symptoms of smoke inhalation, a fire department spokesman said late in the evening. However, no one had to go to the hospital.
The fire broke out on Thursday evening in a basement compartment on the fourth floor of the building. Several people called 911 and reported the smoke. This has spread over all 42 floors of the house, the spokesman said.
He said it was difficult to find the exact location of the fire. It was a very large area where many things had been parked. According to the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”, the fire brigade discovered the source of the fire on the fourth floor. Up to 60 firefighters extinguished the fire a good two hours after the emergency calls.
The 135 meter high residential building has 968 apartments. 50 to 60 residents had brought themselves to safety because of the smoke. They were able to return to the building. Further details on the cause and the extent of the damage were not initially known.
