1984: Major alarm - The hospital is on fire

At 5:38 a.m., the hands of the clock in room U 260 of Offenbach's "City Hospital" had stopped. It was Friday, September 7, 1984, when clouds of smoke rose from the 14-story ward building, which was only ten years old.

What had happened?

A neon light tube had imploded in the central medical records archive, a basement room, and the files had caught fire. At 5:21 a.m., fire alarm no. 059 sounds the alarm. Seven minutes later, the firefighters are on the scene and the flames are extinguished in no time. Apparently everything went well again. The horror is all the greater when heavy smoke suddenly seeps through the false ceiling: the fire continues to spread and is fought with water and extinguishing chemicals - in vain, because the source of the fire cannot be reached directly. Then there is an explosive bang - a short circuit! But the emergency power generators also have to be switched off, otherwise there will be further uncontrollable explosions. All the power cables around the source of the fire are destroyed - they were the main cables. The entire high-rise now has no more power and is only provisionally lit by the gradually rising dawn, but is increasingly obscured by impenetrable smoke. The elevators are at a standstill. Burnt paper, charred cables, scorched rubber and PVC flooring: Their corrosive smoke permeates through the dark stairwells to below the flat roof on the 14th floor. The situation threatens to get out of control. There is no time for questions or discussion. The lives of almost 1,000 people are at stake - including some patients awaiting urgent surgery and others in intensive care. "Evacuate the whole building!" decides Walter Suermann, then Lord Mayor and head of the crisis team, at around half past nine in the morning.

Scenes like in a disaster movie

On the east side of the central building, hundreds of firefighters from Offenbach and neighboring towns try to get the fire and smoke under control. On the other side, more than 1,500 helpers - including members of the emergency services and disaster control teams and all available doctors and nursing staff at the hospital - are bringing patients outside on stretchers. Quickly, but carefully, because they have to pass through dark stairwells. Where no stretcher is available, helpers wrap the patients in sheets or carry them piggyback outside. The rescue operation runs exactly according to plan: first it is the turn of the newborns on the 14th floor, followed by the patients on the other floors - from top to bottom. Fortunately, most of the patients are able to walk. They are led through the stairwells in groups of ten. Hand by hand, with their eyes closed and wet towels in front of their mouths, they feel their way up and down the smoke-filled corridors and stairs. They can only open their eyes briefly in between, as the smoke is acrid. The only light for orientation is provided by flashlights stuck to the walls with sticking plaster.

No injuries thanks to a perfectly planned rescue operation

After two hours, the unbelievable is achieved: all the patients are safe. In the meantime, the Offenbach authorities have prepared emergency accommodation in the town hall and several schools. Offenbach public transport buses and ambulances transport the patients to the emergency accommodation. The seriously ill and bedridden are taken to 12 different hospitals in the area. The crisis team gives the all-clear: the entire building has been evacuated. No one has been harmed and there has been no panic - thanks to the prudent efforts of doctors, nursing staff and rescue teams. However, as always, the work of the fire department also includes the subsequent fire watch. Only after two full days is the end of the operation announced early on Sunday morning.

Unprecedented large-scale deployment of helpers

The call for help from Offenbach was heard far beyond the city limits as the rescue operations got underway. The sirens of the fire engines, ambulances and emergency doctors echoed through the streets around the city hospital for hours. All of the region's rescue services were involved, together with the fire department and technical relief organization, supported by the German and US armed forces. The cab control center ensured that all available cabs drove to the hospital and took discharged patients home free of charge - as rather rare passengers because they were often only dressed in a bathrobe. Offenbach's public transport company spontaneously provided six buses to transport the patients to the emergency accommodation. Employees of the hospital, who were already on their way to vacation, come back and lend a hand. The local daily newspaper "Offenbach-Post" publishes a special edition.