Five young people have received the State of Saxony’s Medal of Honor for Lifesaving for their spontaneous rescue effort at a retirement home in Chemnitz. Mayor Sven Schulze (SPD) praised them, saying that at the time, they did not wait for someone else to take action, but instead took the initiative themselves and actively participated in the rescue. He noted that they served as role models and helped prevent a worse outcome.
In March, a fire broke out at a nursing home in the city, killing one resident and injuring seven others. The young people happened to be in town for a seminar as part of their Federal Volunteer Service. As they were about to have a coffee at the Schlossteich, they heard a fire alarm beeping and saw smoke coming from a building. “We just started running. We knew right away that we had to help,” one of them reported at the time.
