A complex firefighting operation was underway after a major fire broke out around 5 a.m. in a four-story apartment building in Borgo San Lorenzo (Florence), in the Mugello area. The flames originated in a restaurant’s kitchen before spreading to a neighboring business. The fire then reached first-floor apartments used as a bed and breakfast. Eleven people, including three children, were transported to the hospital for checks and were admitted under a yellow code, indicating non-critical injuries.
Firefighters entered the condominium, which contains B&B apartments from the first floor up, and evacuated all occupants. They rescued two people who had been trapped by smoke and flames on the first floor; the individuals had lowered themselves using tied-together sheets to reach an internal courtyard. Operations, complicated by the building’s layout, are ongoing and include cooling down the areas of the two restaurants. NBCR firefighting personnel are also on site to inspect the wooden beams supporting the ground floor ceiling. Inspections have been completed on the flues from both restaurants, which run from the ground floor to the building’s roof. The two restaurants and the hospitality facilities have been declared unusable.