Düsseldorf: Gas station on Südring burns down – man suffers life-threatening injuries

Major operation on Südring: A gas station is ablaze, thick smoke is billowing from the building. What the rescuers find inside.

A fire at a gas station on Südring in Düsseldorf-Bilk triggered a major fire department operation on Monday afternoon. A man was rescued from the burning building with life-threatening injuries, the fire department reports.

The Düsseldorf Fire Department was called to the scene at approximately 3:50 p.m. Even before arriving, firefighters could see heavy smoke coming from the gas station area. Initial assessments on site revealed that a fire had broken out in the rear of the gas station shop. The flames threatened to spread to the roof structure. The shop area was filled with thick smoke.

The fire department immediately initiated firefighting operations and checked the gas station shop. During the operation, emergency responders rescued a man from the area. The man had suffered life-threatening injuries in the fire. He received emergency medical treatment at the scene and was then transported to a hospital for further medical care.

The Düsseldorf city rescue service provided medical assistance to three other people. However, hospital treatment was not required for any of them, according to the press release. The firefighting efforts were followed by time-consuming follow-up operations to identify and extinguish any remaining hidden embers.

For the duration of the fire department's operation, the southern ring road had to be closed to traffic, initially in both directions, and later only in the direction of the city center. Employees of the Düsseldorf grid company preemptively cut off the power to the area.

The operation, involving approximately 30 emergency personnel, ended after about two and a half hours. As a precautionary measure, the fire department checked the site for hidden embers later that evening. The criminal investigation department has begun its investigation into the cause of the fire.