There were fires in three places in Marzahn-Hellersdorf in the late evening hours on Tuesday. A police spokeswoman confirmed on Wednesday morning that prams and rubbish were on fire in the residential buildings on Erich-Kästner-Strasse and Carola-Neher Strasse. A 28-year-old was arrested on suspicion of arson. First the “B.Z.” reported.
At 9:35 p.m., a pram caught fire in the hallway of the basement of a six-story apartment building on Erich-Kästner-Strasse. Residents called the fire brigade, but the flames could be extinguished before the emergency services arrived, according to the police and fire brigade. The residents had just noticed a man who wanted to gain access to the house.
About an hour later, rubbish in the basement of another house, also on Erich-Kästner-Strasse, caught fire, said the police spokeswoman. The fire was extinguished by the fire department.
At 11:45 p.m., a pram caught fire again in the hallway of a house on Carola-Neher-Strasse. There was heavy smoke in the stairwell. A resident of the home and her three- and seven-year-old children were taken to hospital for observation with suspected smoke inhalation.
A man was found near the house, the police spokeswoman reported, who matched the descriptions of the residents of the first house who had alerted the fire department.
The 28-year-old has been arrested and is suspected of having started the fire, police said. The man was identified and then released. The investigations are ongoing.
Again and again there are fires in residential buildings in Marzahn-Hellersdorf: In May, two people were injured in a basement fire on Erich-Kästner-Straße. The cause of the fire was unclear.
On the night of Good Friday, three prams and junk on the third floor of an eleven-story high-rise building on Ringenwalder Strasse caught fire. Two people were rescued from the eleventh floor of the house and examined on site.
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On Good Friday, a mailbox burned in Lea-Grundig-Strasse in Marzahn, later an apartment door on the mezzanine floor. In both cases, the police investigated arson in both cases.
In early April, a woman died and eight people were injured in three fires in quick succession. Arson was suspected in two of the three cases.
Series of fires are not only keeping residents and emergency services in suspense in Marzahn-Hellersdorf: In Staaken, Berlin-Spandau, a series of suspected arson attacks has been going on for over a year. The police said there had been an increase in fires since April 2021. In more than 80 cases, it is checked whether they go to the same people.
