Berlin
Avus open again after the Grunewald fire, forest still closed
A truck drives on the Avus in Berlin. photo
© Paul Zinken/dpa
The fire brigade operation in Berlin’s Grunewald lasts a week. Now the all clear is given. But the fight against the fire is not over yet.
A week after a fire broke out at a blast site in Berlin’s Grunewald, the situation there has eased. According to the fire brigade, the restricted area was reduced on Wednesday evening and the blocking of the 115 motorway (Avus), which is about 500 meters from the site, was lifted.
A few hours later, traffic started rolling again, but only gradually, as not all barriers had been removed. In addition, the fire brigade also gave the all-clear officially in the evening. According to the Berlin fire brigade, the entrance and exit to and from Hüttenweg remains closed in both directions. The forest area around the blasting site should still not be entered.
According to a spokesman, the use of the fire brigade is now being gradually reduced. Firefighters would continue to drive off the area to be able to quickly extinguish small embers. In addition, the forest around the blasting site would be moistened. It is still unclear when the site will be handed over to the police.
On Wednesday it was possible to bring the temperatures below 60 degrees on the entire blasting site, as the spokesman said. That was crucial for the release of the Autobahn. Before that, those responsible wanted to ensure that scattered ammunition and old World War II bombs on the square no longer posed a threat.
A water supply had been laid around the square to further cool the square, the spokesman said. “The temperature is maintained by the humidification.” A risk of explosions or detonations can currently be ruled out. According to the information, special police forces inspected the place for the first time on Wednesday to assess the damage.
Firefighting helicopter in action
According to the fire brigade, the use of two fire-fighting helicopters by the federal police was essential for the progress in fighting the fire. These were deployed on Wednesday after they flew over Grunewald for the first time on Tuesday. A third helicopter used thermal imaging cameras to examine the successes achieved on the ground. The helicopters were recently used in the forest fires in Saxony.
Previously, the fire brigade was only able to cool the hot spots on the ground and the remaining explosive devices with a fire fighting vehicle and firefighting robots. Because of the heat on the site, there was a risk of ammunition and other ordnance exploding.
On the blasting site, where the police stored 30 tons of old grenades, World War II bombs, ammunition and confiscated fireworks, there was a violent fire last Thursday night. The cause is not yet known. Numerous explosions could be heard. In the days that followed, isolated explosive devices went off.