Solothurn
Fire at the Thüringenhaus retirement home in Solothurn’s old town: high property damage, but no injuries
A fire broke out in the old town of Solothurn at the Thüringenhaus retirement home. Three houses are affected. The fire brigade wants to prevent the spread to other houses.
There is a fire at the Thüringenhaus retirement home.
Huge luck in misfortune: on Monday evening three houses burned in Solothurn’s old town. At the center of the flames was the Thüringenhaus old people’s and nursing home owned by the Solothurn community. But according to the current status, no one was injured.
“We were able to evacuate over 20 people,” says Andreas Mock, media spokesman for the Solothurn canton police. Six people were taken to the hospital to be checked, for example with suspected smoke inhalation.
The fire report was received by the canton police after 7:15 p.m. A huge column of smoke could be seen over the old town, ambulance vehicles were parked around the Altes Zeughaus museum and dozens of firefighters from the city and from the surrounding communities such as Zuchwil and Bellach fought the fire. The scenery awakened dark memories of the old town fire in 2011.
The fire brigade fights the flames, among other things, from the ski jump. There, parts of the old people’s home burned ablaze. Later only the skeleton of the attic was visible. The aim of the fire brigade is to prevent the spread to other old town buildings or the Riedholz Tower. As of 11 p.m. on Monday evening, this goal was largely achieved according to the police.
The residents had previously been evacuated to the nearby Ambassadorenhof. Residents were also evacuated from their homes. They waited in the cold, some watching, while frightened residents of the old town rushed to the scene of the fire, as did homeowners in nearby buildings. They watched the events with concern.
A place was found for all residents
“It’s a huge shock,” says Mayor Stefanie Ingold, struggling for words. She was traveling privately when she was contacted by the fire department and immediately rushed to the scene.
Fire at the Thuringia House in Solothurn’s old town.
Sergio Wyniger, President of the Solothurn community, was also deeply moved. “It looks really bad,” he told the newspaper on site. “Half the home is probably useless now.” The kitchen and the servers of the Solothurn community are housed in the affected part. “I have no idea what tomorrow will bring,” said Sergio Wyniger resignedly.
“But the most important thing is of course that everyone is doing well and that everyone who was affected was able to get out of the retirement home in good time. That’s very lucky, »said Wyniger on Monday evening. “Everything else is basically irrelevant.”
Oh my goodness it burns in #solothurn pic.twitter.com/hQOlF8B7wh
— sandra boner (@sabostern) March 7, 2022
It was also possible to find places in other homes for all residents of the Thüringenhaus retirement home. All have a place where they can stay and be cared for.
update follows…