Dozens Injured as Fire Rips through Dried-out German Town

Dusseldorf (dpa) - Dozens of people were injured Tuesday after a blaze in western Germany spread to at least eight homes and knocked out a key railway route, fire and police officials said.

Siegburg city officials initially said they suspected the fire started when sparks were created by a train crossing the tracks and then spread up a slope to the houses.

However, the city later said no official cause had been determined and rail officials said an investigation was still ongoing.

About 550 firefighters were called out to extinguish the blaze as well as a police water cannon and a helicopter. It was brought under control after several hours.

"The first responders were basically faced with a wall of flame," said a fire department spokesperson. "When it's 39 degrees, these things can spread quickly."

The affected houses were all heavily damaged. Pictures showed some of them with their attics caved in.

The local government control centre coordinating the response early Wednesday put the total number of injured at 32, one of them seriously. It had earlier put the number at 28, including three firefighters and five police officers.

Germany is in the midst of a major heatwave, as is much of the rest of Europe, and conditions are dry after weeks of little rain. That complicated work for the firefighters, who were trying to save the buildings even as flames and thick smoke poured out.

Residents were told to stay indoors with the windows and doors shut and all ventilation and air conditioning turned off.

Long distance rail services along the major route linking the cities of Cologne and Frankfurt were set to resume on Wednesday, a rail services spokeswoman said, but it was unclear when regional train services would...

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