Fifteen rescued as fire spreads through Prague apartment block

Firefighters and police rescued 15 people after a fire broke out in a high-rise apartment building in Prague’s Nusle district on Sunday evening.

The blaze began in a sixth-floor apartment on Kotorská Street and spread to the home immediately above it. Thick smoke could be seen pouring from the 12-story panel building.

Emergency crews were called shortly before 6 p.m. and declared the second of four fire-alert levels.

One resident was rescued directly from the burning apartment and handed over to paramedics.

A patient was treated for a minor first-degree burn to an upper limb. Paramedics also examined 10 other people for possible smoke inhalation, but none showed signs of exposure.

“Together with police, we rescued 15 people from the building, one of whom was treated by paramedics,” Prague firefighters wrote on X.

People were evacuated from the upper floors while police restricted traffic around the building. Officials initially expected disruption in the surrounding area to continue for around an hour.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control within 20 minutes of the first unit’s arrival, preventing it from spreading further. The operation was declared complete at 8:18 p.m.

Damage was preliminarily estimated at CZK 1.5 million. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The incident came one day after another apartment fire on Francouzská Street, where firefighters rescued eight people and tram traffic was suspended for more than two hours.