BERLIN (AP) -- A suspicious fire in a five-story Berlin apartment building killed eight people, including five children, and injured at least 25 others in what police said Tuesday may have been arson.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation and fire department officials said it originated in a stroller on a ground floor stairway. They said the victims were from a Polish and a Turkish family who lived in the building near the capital's Tiergarten park.
The fire began shortly after 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) Monday. Many of the victims ran in panic into the smoke-filled stairway, and likely would not have been harmed if they had kept their apartment doors closed, fire department spokesman Gerd Hoffmann said.
Firefighters put the blaze out within 15 minutes.
No chemicals or flammable materials were used to start the blaze, but arson has not been ruled out, officials said.
Fifteen people suffered serious injuries while 10 others were slightly injured.
Authorities did not immediately release the identity of the victims.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press
