8/9/2024 Updated 12 hours ago|Source: ČTK
After the fire of the swimming pool in Český Krumlov, the firefighters dismantled the roof and pulled down the walls (source: ČT24)
Firefighters dismantled the roof of the swimming stadium in Český Krumlov after the fire, which they started extinguishing on Saturday morning and brought it under control around nine in the evening. A torso remains of the building. On Sunday morning, they reduced the number of units to eight and also reduced the fire alarm level from three to two. Heavy equipment arrived at the scene, with the help of which they dismantled the roof and extinguished the fires below. Firefighters are gradually leaving the fire station and will monitor it for the rest of Sunday and at night. Investigators will arrive at the scene on Monday morning.
“At eight o’clock in the morning there was another big shift. We have ‘only’ eight units on site. There is already a CAT 336 crawler excavator with a sorting grab and demolition shears at the fire station. Colleagues will dismantle the roof structure for us, uncover the fire station and we will put out the fires,” said fire department spokeswoman Vendula Matějů.
Firefighters received a report about the fire on the emergency line on Saturday at half past eight in the morning, when smoke was pouring from the roof, but no flames could be seen. The fire was located in the soffits of the roof, where it gradually spread over the entire roof. The firefighters were unable to localize the fire, twenty-two units gradually intervened on the scene, declared the third level of fire alarm out of four and called in a drone to detect outbreaks.
Manipulation of fire when disposing of a wasp’s nest
The fire burned through the roof and affected the interior of the pool, including the swimming area, and the supporting structures. A piece of the roof fell into the pool, the firemen had to break the glass wall from the windows. The fire also affected the exterior wood paneling. According to the firefighters, no one was in the building, so they did not have to evacuate anyone.
Firefighters estimated the damage caused by the fire at twenty million crowns on Saturday. According to the police, the fire was apparently caused by an unfortunate handling of the fire during the disposal of a wasp’s nest. The case is being investigated for suspicion of public endangerment.
The pool will no longer be able to be repaired
The deputy mayor of Český Krumlov, Dalibor Uhlíř (ČK rozumem a srdrom – Nezávislí), already said on Saturday that the swimming stadium is so damaged that it will not be possible to repair it. “We will start all the preparations right next week, because if we were to go by the minimum dates, the opening would be at the end of 2027. We have already had a meeting with the mayor and officials from the property management and investment department. According to an estimate from an earlier study, construction could cost four hundred to four hundred and fifty million crowns, depending on whether there will be a sauna world or a children’s world,” outlined Uhlíř.
It is the only indoor pool for the city and its surroundings. The nearest one is in Větrní, eleven kilometers away. To other cities, such as České Budějovice, Frymburk or Lipno nad Vltavou, people have to travel a distance approaching thirty kilometers.
The swimming pool in Český Krumlov was the most visited facility in the city, seventy-five thousand people came there every year. In recent years, the city has invested millions of crowns in it, this year, for example, it replaced halogen lighting with more economical LED technology for half a million crowns, which made it possible to increase or decrease the lighting intensity.
