A teenager in southwestern Germany set a four-story house on fire when she decided to blow-dry her mattress to warm it up. More than a hundred firefighters were called to the scene.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Steil TV
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It's not the most efficient way to get warm on a cold winter's night nor was it the cleverest for a teenager in Freudenburg, near the German city of Trier.
The girl gave the residents of a four-story house a nasty Christmas surprise after snuggling up in bed after a night out — with a hair dryer to warm up the mattress.
All cozy, she fell asleep and set the bed on fire.
Luckily, she woke up and doused the flames with water after her father helped her drag the mattress onto the balcony.
Lulled into a false sense of security, the two went back to bed. The mattress, however, caught alight again, and the fire spread to the outer walls and all the way to the roof.
A passer-by, who happened to be a firefighter, spotted the blaze and alerted the fire brigade. It took more than a hundred firefighters several hours to put out the fire.
The fire caused €200,000 ($228,000) worth of damage to the house. No one appeared to have been seriously hurt.
German military rocket tests cause two-week moorland fire
A fire caused by rocket tests has raged for two weeks across an area of moorland in northern Germany. Prosecutors are investigating after the armed forces were heavily criticized for the tests and their response to it.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/L.-J. Klemmer
Raging fire
The fire was triggered when rockets tests in the moor by Germany's armed forces — the Bundeswehr — went awry. The rockets were fired from helicopters as part of the drill, but the all-terrain fire engine meant to put out the subsequent fire was out of action and its replacement was at the garage for maintenance work. The fire was thus able to spread quickly.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/L.-J. Klemmer
Size of 1,000 football pitches
The fire has been raging near the northern town of Meppen for more than two weeks and has spread across an area the size of more than 1,000 soccer fields. More than 850 firefighters, both civilian and military, are trying to contain the flames. The smoke can even be seen from space, the German Weather Service (DWD) said.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Konjer
A tricky job
Firefighters' efforts are hampered by strong winds fanning the flames. Access to the moor is restricted as it is riddled with unexploded ordnance. The moor is also covered with peat, which is flammable and almost water-resistant. It causes a smoldering fire under the surface rather than flames such as those caused by burning wood, for example. The area has been used by the military since 1876.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Konjer
No evacuation, but plenty of smoke
The smoke from the fire is noticeable as far away as the city of Bremen, which is 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the moor near Meppen. Some even noticed it in Hamburg, which is more than twice as far away from the fire as Bremen. So far, no evacuation measures have been necessary, but it could take firefighters a few weeks more to put out the fire completely.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/L. Schröer
Bundeswehr criticized
The Bundeswehr has said it would launch an investigation, but it has been criticized for conducting the tests, given the extremely dry conditions this summer. A Green party MP has even decided to sue the Bundeswehr. Local prosecutors have launched preliminary proceedings to ascertain who can be held responsible for the fire.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Konjer
Not the first time
According to the Bundeswehr, it is not the first time the moor in Meppen has burnt. In 2010, a fire raged there for six weeks. Some have now called for a ban on military weapons tests in moorlands in dry conditions.
