Fire kills 14 at German workshop for handicapped

BERLIN - Agence France-Presse

Firemen extinguish a fire at a sheltered workshop in Titisee-Neustadt, Germany, 26 November 2012. EPA Photo

Fourteen people perished today when a fire broke out at a workshop for handicapped people in Germany, local news agency DPA said.
 
Seven people were also injured in the fire, which occurred in the small town of Titisee-Neustadt in the Black Forest area of southwestern Germany, DPA said.
 
The fire broke out around 2:00pm (1300 GMT), according to media reports and had still not been extinguished nearly two hours later.
 
Police were unable to determine the cause of the fire which broke out in a workshop housing some 120 people with disabilities.
 
DPA quoted a source as saying there had been an explosion in a storage room.
 
It was still unclear whether chemicals were stored in the room, but the workshop activities include the treatment of wood.
 
Several people were removed from the building by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus, according to Focus magazine.