The end of a major operation. The fire department packs up Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa
From the BZ editorial team
The fire brigade packs up their hoses. More than 20,000 meters had to be rolled up on Thursday. A week after the devastating fire at the Grunewald blast site, the firefighters handed the area back to the Berlin police. Firefighting operation ended!
The situation on the 80,000 square meter area is now relatively safe, according to a fire department spokesman: “The emergency services still on site are gradually being withdrawn.”
► Tank firefighting vehicles should continue to drive around the area to keep it cool – there are still smaller embers. A fire watch should remain at the scene at least until Sunday.
► On the Avus, which has been closed for almost a week, the cars have been rolling again since Wednesday evening.
The traffic is rolling again. The Autobahn 115 (Avus) was released on Wednesday evening Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa
► Thursday morning, experts from the police’s explosive ordnance clearance service re-entered the blast site. Until then, everything was cordoned off over a wide area because of the risk of explosion.
► Forensic technicians should now examine ammunition and other explosive devices, collect them and render them harmless.
The emergency services rolled up more than 1,000 hoses on Thursday and stowed them away Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa
► Fire investigators from the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) must now clarify: How did the fire break out, was it possibly arson?
Because the cause of what was, according to the fire department, “the most challenging and dangerous firefighting operation” since the war has not yet been clarified. The site will continue to be guarded around the clock, the adjacent forest will remain closed.