Dortmund (ots). Attentive residents of Feldherrenstrasse in Dortmund-Mitte became aware of a smoke alarm going off early on Monday afternoon, December 2nd, and then alerted the fire department.
When the first fire brigade arrived just three minutes after the alarm was raised, smoke could be seen on the first floor through a tilted window. Since the apartment door of the affected apartment could not be opened independently and non-destructive access was not possible, the turntable ladder set up parallel in front of the building was used to access the first floor through a window. The smoke development in the apartment was not insignificant, so the operation was carried out under heavy respiratory protection. During the search of the smoke-filled apartment, a frightened dog was found and rescued using the turntable ladder. The actual fire was extinguished before it could spread to other inventory.
The dog was cared for and calmed down by rescue service employees, while at the same time the affected apartment was cleared of smoke – this was also done using the turntable ladder, to which high-performance fans were mounted.
In the meantime, the resident arrived at the scene and, visibly relieved, was able to receive his frightened but uninjured dog. The alarmed animal rescue vehicle from fire station 5 therefore no longer had to be used.
By using the turntable ladder, property damage due to the apartment door being broken open was avoided and the operation was still achieved quickly before the fire could develop into an apartment fire. No one was injured during the operation – the dog was also frightened.
The operation was over after about 30 minutes; 18 people from Fire Station 1 were on duty (Center) with five vehicles.