Ludwigslust Hospital Blaze
Two Patients Die, Dozens Injured as Major Fire Engulfs Ludwigslust Hospital
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Key Points
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Timing and building specifics indicate the fire began with the alarm around 4:00 a.m. local time, with the roof fire appearing around 4:28–4:30 a.m. at a five-storey, 160-bed hospital that serves Ludwigslust.
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Evacuation details described scenes of rapid evacuation: patients and staff were moved out of the building, with outside scenes showing people wrapped in rescue blankets and some patients pushed across the hospital grounds in wheeled or walking evacuations.
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Initial assessments about the fire's origin were conflicting: some reports pointed to the roof of the radiology building, while others suggested the blaze began in a patient room, and authorities have not confirmed a definitive cause.
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Injury totals varied across reports, with some outlets noting 34 injured, while officials at one point described the injuries as not all life-threatening.
A fire tore through the Helene-von-Bülow-Klinikum hospital in Ludwigslust, northern Germany, early Thursday morning, killing two patients and injuring at least 34 others, according to Al Jazeera. The blaze broke out around 4:28 a.m. local time and spread rapidly into the wooden roof trusses, forcing the evacuation of all 82 patients inside the 160-bed facility.
Doctors, nurses, and firefighters wheeled patients out into the hospital grounds in the pre-dawn darkness, wrapping them in rescue blankets. The hospital is the only medical facility serving Ludwigslust, a town roughly 40 kilometers south of Schwerin in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Authorities said the full cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed.
Fire Spreads From Patient Room to Hospital Roof
The alarm triggered at 4:28 a.m., with the fire starting on the third floor before spreading into the roof structure of the radiology wing, Al Jazeera reported. Some reports cited a possible patient smoking in the room of origin, though police have not confirmed this. Yahoo News noted the roof structure was alight by around 4:30 a.m., with visible flames and thick smoke rising from the building.
Fire safety experts say the rapid spread — from a patient room to the roof in roughly 15 to 20 minutes — points to a possible failure in compartmentation. That is the term for structural barriers designed to keep a fire from spreading beyond its starting point. The radiology wing suffered severe structural damage and was cordoned off. Eight volunteer fire brigades, totaling 75 to 90 firefighters, battled the blaze.
Two Patients Dead, 82 Evacuated in Pre-Dawn Rush
Both victims were patients. Officials confirmed their deaths by 8:00 a.m. Five critically ill patients were transferred to a sister facility in the nearby town of Hagenow. The remaining patients were moved out of the building within roughly 30 minutes of the alarm, according to the investigative briefing. Many were wheeled across the grounds in beds and wheelchairs.
District administrator Stefan Sternberg said staff responded immediately and in force. "All doctors of the LUP clinics have come to the hospital this morning, even those who were not on shift," he said, according to Al Jazeera. Interior Minister Christian Pegel praised the response, saying crews were "working with the highest professionalism to care for the people."
Ludwigslust's Only Hospital Now Partially Shut Down
The Helene-von-Bülow-Klinikum is the sole hospital in Ludwigslust. With the radiology wing damaged and the emergency room under assessment, local residents now face a 25 to 40 kilometer journey to Schwerin or Parchim for specialized care, Al Jazeera reported. Hospital management said unaffected wings could gradually restart operations, but the full timeline is unclear.
The hospital is part of LUP-Kliniken gGmbH, a public network owned 75% by the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. The destruction of the radiology department involves millions of euros in medical equipment. Officials have pointed to the newly created federal Hospital Transformation Fund as a possible source of recovery funding. This is not the first fire at the site — a previous blaze in a technical room occurred in October 2022, though no one was hurt then.
Police Open Negligent Arson Probe as Cause Stays Unclear
The Rostock Police Headquarters has launched a criminal investigation into suspected negligent arson, Seattle PI reported. Early reports from local radio suggested a patient may have been smoking in the room where the fire started. However, authorities have not confirmed this, and the official cause remains under investigation. Yahoo News noted investigators were still assessing conflicting early accounts pointing to either the roof or a patient room as the origin.
Early injury figures varied. Some outlets initially reported as many as 47 hurt before the number settled at 34 confirmed injuries, most from smoke inhalation. Officials described the majority of injuries as not life-threatening. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities have not yet released a final casualty count or a definitive cause.
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