Grunewald: Major fire after explosion – fire brigade starts extinguishing work

DThe fire brigade has started extinguishing work within the safety zone around the blast site in Grunewald. That said fire department spokesman Thomas Kirstein late Thursday afternoon. “The restricted area of ​​1000 meters remains in place. But it is possible that we as a fire brigade can now work in certain areas up to 500 meters,” said Kirstein. “That means some of the extinguishing work has already started.” The extinguishing water had already been provided in advance.

The fire brigade was called at 3:30 a.m. to the popular Grunewald excursion area. Explosions had been heard earlier. Ammunition is stored at the Berlin police detonation site, which experts normally render harmless there.

The fire brigade drew a blocking circle of around 1000 meters around the fire. The emergency services were initially unable to extinguish the fire. According to the state fire director Karsten Homrighausen, the restricted area also applies to heights, so that fighting a fire from the air is currently not expedient, since hardly any water reaches the ground from this height.

“Every minute that we don’t hear a detonation or something happens at the blast site is a good time for us,” Kirstein said in the afternoon. “We will now be able to use the fire brigade’s forces in parts up to 500 meters away.” The Bundeswehr is supporting the fire brigade by creating aisles in the forest from which extinguishing work can then be carried out. “It can be assumed that the fire will not go beyond the 1000-meter exclusion zone,” said the fire department spokesman. A special robot from the Bundeswehr is also to be sent into the restricted area with cameras for reconnaissance.

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“We have now redefined the area: around 50 hectares are affected,” explained Kirstein. “Not all of them burn completely, some of them just smoke.” The area has expanded significantly since the early hours of the morning. “We’re in good spirits now,” Kirstein said. “We have an independent extinguishing service that will bring us massively forward in the evening hours today.”

Giffey got an idea of ​​the situation on site

Berlin’s Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) got an idea of ​​the situation on site at noon. “It is an event that is unique in Berlin’s post-war history,” she said on site. She thanked the around 250 fire brigade, police and army personnel for their commitment.

No people have been injured by the fire so far. According to the fire department, the first residential building is two kilometers away. “What is important to me is that the safety of Berliners is not endangered and that is the case here,” said Berlin’s Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) at the site of the operation. There are no toxic objects that could pose a hazard. “In that respect, I can calm you down for now.”

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The weather should initially only help the emergency services a little in fighting the fire in Berlin’s Grunewald. According to the German Weather Service (DWD), it will remain consistently dry in the region on Thursday and Friday night, but there are also no significant winds that could fan the fire further.

Showers and thunderstorms are forecast for Friday afternoon. “There can also be heavy rain,” said a DWD spokesman. The amount of rain could then help the fire brigade to extinguish it.

The fire may keep the emergency services busy for the next few days, said fire department spokesman Kirstein. “But we will put out the fire.”

Cause of fire completely unclear

The fire broke out early Thursday morning. The fire broke out on or around a Berlin police blast site and burned uncontrollably over an area of ​​1.5 hectares, around 15,000 square meters. That’s about the size of two football pitches.

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According to police chief Barbara Slowik, the cause of the fire is still completely unclear. “We’re trying to get to the scene with the fire investigators as quickly as we can,” said Slowik at the scene. Local residents and emergency services would have noticed clear detonations. “But what exactly was the cause now will be clarified by the fire investigators.”

Found ammunition has been stored at the blast site in Grunewald since 1950 and defused in a controlled manner by the explosive ordnance disposal service of the Berlin police. These include confiscated fireworks and ammunition from World War II. According to the police, around 25 tons of ammunition are currently stored there.

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As the police announced on Twitter, there are no alternative areas of use in Berlin or they cannot be approved. The site is equipped with fire alarm systems, has a fire protection lane several meters wide and provides for continuous irrigation of the stored ordnance.

Giffey wants to talk about further use of the blast site

When asked on site, Giffey explained that the place was the only one available in Berlin. The location in the forest is an advantage, as there is no residential area within two kilometers, she emphasized. “We have to think about how we will deal with this explosive site in the future,” she said. She will also speak to Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) for this.

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The CDU faction in the Berlin House of Representatives called for the explosive site to be closed. “This highly dangerous explosive place has no place in a local recreation area,” said the faction. “This terrible accident could have been avoided,” said the Berlin Christian Democrats. The CDU parliamentary group pointed out that they had already campaigned for the closure of the blast site in 2004. “Unfortunately, our application initiatives were rejected by the SPD-Left coalition.”

The regional and S-Bahn traffic to the west was interrupted on Thursday. The S-Bahn line S7 only runs from Berlin to Grunewald, as a railway spokesman said. In regional traffic, lines RE1 and RE7 as well as RB21 and RB22 between Berlin-Wannsee and Berlin-Friedrichstraße are interrupted. It was not initially known to what extent long-distance traffic was affected due to the fire brigade operation.

The Avus motorway between Spanish Allee and Hüttenweg is also blocked in both directions, as is Kronprinzessinnenweg and Havelchaussee, the Berlin traffic center said. The authorities warned the population via warning apps and called on them to avoid the danger area. Residents should keep windows and doors closed. Ventilation and air conditioning should be turned off.

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