Fire in Wismar apartment block kills two Ukrainian men, 14 injured

The blaze and the rescue

The fire broke out in the basement of a multi-storey residential building in the north-east of Wismar, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Police said it started shortly after 22.00 on the evening of 12 November 2026, and emergency services were alarmed around 22.10. When the crews arrived, dense smoke was already pouring out of one of the stairwells. Firefighters began extinguishing work and evacuated the residents of the affected stairwell. Residents of two further stairwells also had to leave their flats as a precaution. The city administration said 86 firefighters and rescue service personnel were deployed.

Two men dead, 14 injured

Firefighters found two people lifeless during the operation, and for both of them any help came too late. Both were 26-year-old men from Ukraine, and a spokesperson said the public prosecutor's office had requested autopsies of both. Fourteen people were injured in total, and three of them were taken to Wismar hospital for further treatment. A police spokeswoman did not say where exactly the two men had been found. The injured were treated at the scene and the evacuated residents were examined as well.

Dead2

Injured14

Taken to hospital3

Dead

2 people

Injured

14 people

Taken to hospital

3 people

Data from the article text

Cause and open questions

Police are investigating on suspicion of arson causing death, and officers have seized the site of the fire. A fire investigator was on site, but as of 13 November 2026 the cause had not been established. Police did not rule out a criminal offence. Prosecutors expect to have findings on the cause on Monday, 16 November 2026. Police could not yet give any figure for the material damage caused by the fire.

Residents and temporary housing

Evacuated residents were first taken to the Friedenshof fire station, where they were examined and could warm up. The housing cooperative arranged temporary emergency accommodation for 15 people who could not stay with private contacts. Other residents found places with relatives or acquaintances. Police asked residents of the evacuated stairwells not to re-enter their flats until an official release. Whether and when the residents can return to their homes remains open.