Five rescued in Amsterdam Centrum fire on Amstel

Firefighters rescued five people from a burning apartment building on Amstel opposite Carré in Amsterdam last night, AT5 reports. One resident was arrested. The fire started in a woman's apartment on the second floor of the building. The woman was able to leave the building unaided. She was later arrested by the police and taken to the police station. Other residents were unable to use the building's stairwell due to a massive amount of smoke. They had to be rescued from their homes by firefighters using a ladder truck. All residents were given shelter in the canteen of the police station on Prinsengracht. Several residents had inhaled smoke and had to be examined by ambulance workers. The fire department used a so-called pressure fan to get the smoke out of the apartments and staircase. The fire did an enormous amount of damage to the apartment where it broke out. The living room and bedroom are completely burnt out and the apartment is uninhabitable. Adjacent apartments sustained smoke and water damage.