It burns brightly! One of the halls of the recycling center is on fire Photo: spreepicture
By Michael Behrendt and Sebastian Kaep
A major fire at a Neuköln recycling center has kept the Berlin fire brigade in suspense since Wednesday evening. More than 120 rescuers are in action – still, there could be even more. Because there is no end in sight for the time being. The cause of the fire is not yet clear. The criminal police will only be able to start their investigations after the end of the operation.
At 7:12 p.m., the Berlin fire brigade was made aware of the fire by a technical automatic alarm system. The first units drove to Lahnstraße with blue lights and sirens – and confirmed the seriousness of the operation. Because dark clouds of smoke rose high into the sky – visible far across Berlin.
According to a fire brigade spokesman, 5,000 square meters of a hall that is divided into several sub-halls is on fire at the moment.
The fire brigade tweeted: “Please avoid the area and keep the access routes free for emergency vehicles.”
The warning app “Nina” also informed the population of the capital about the major fire in the warehouse for paper waste: “Close the windows and doors and switch off the ventilation and air conditioning systems.” This is to prevent toxic gases from entering the apartments and endanger people.
“Air traffic has not been affected so far,” says a spokeswoman for the federal police.
Black smoke over the warehouse of the recycling center Photo: spreepicture
According to a fire department spokesman, the extinguishing measures will drag on all night long. There is currently no information about injuries.