Fire in Berlin high-rise injured 5, prompted some residents to consider jumping to safety

Firefighters work at extinguishing a fire in a high-rise building, in Friedrichshain, Berlin, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, (Christophe Gateau/dpa via AP) 2026-08-14T07:55:55Z Berlin (AP) — A fire in a 21-story Berlin high-rise injured an estimated five people and made some residents consider jumping to escape the flames before it was brought under control Friday morning, local media reported. The severity of the injuries was not immediately known, German news agency dpa reported. All of the building’s residents were evacuated. One person was forced to jump into a firetruck’s aerial basket, dpa reported. A fire department spokesperson described the rescue operation as “dramatic.” It wasn’t immediately known how far the person jumped. The blaze broke out around 6:30 a.m. Friday in the Friedrichshain neighborhood near the Ostbahnhof train station. It was brought under control in under three hours, dpa reported. It started in an apartment on the 11th floor and spread to the unit above, dpa reported. The fire’s cause was not immediately known either.