Two firefighters die fighting a warehouse fire in Nisko, southeastern Poland
The fire cut off the escape route of firefighters at a warehouse and shop selling tractor parts in Nisko. The cause is not yet known and the blaze was still burning when reports were filed.
The fire in Nisko
A fire broke out at a warehouse and shop that sell spare parts for tractors and farm machinery in Nisko, in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship of southeastern Poland. The flames spread across the whole building and blocked the firefighters' way out. Two firefighters died despite resuscitation, the regional fire service spokesperson Marcin Betleja told RMF FM. Rzeczpospolita, citing the remiza.pl portal, reported that both men had been evacuated from the burning building before they died.
Response on the ground
According to the local portal Lublin112.pl, the alarm reached the fire service at around 8:00 on Friday, 16 October. Reports from the scene put the number of fire crews at 24, drawn from the Nisko, Leżajsk, Stalowa Wola and Łańcut counties. Both State Fire Service units and volunteer firefighters were sent to the site, and an operational group from the provincial commander's headquarters was on its way. When the reports were filed, the fire had not been brought under control and firefighting was still under way.
Officials respond
Marcin Kierwiński, Poland's minister of the interior and administration, posted condolences on X. He wrote that the two men had given their lives while carrying out their duties to the very end.
A great tragedy. Two firefighters died tragically during the operation in Nisko.
He extended his condolences to the families, relatives and colleagues of the two firefighters.
Who died and what is still unknown
The two firefighters worked with the fire service in Nisko, one of them for six years and the other for ten. Their names were not published in the reports that were available at the time of writing. Officials have not yet said why the fire broke out, and the sources do not say what caused the blaze to spread so quickly through the building. Firefighting continued at the site, and further details on the cause and the final scale of the damage are still to come.