Enlarge image
Smoke column above the Grunewald: The fires could be contained within the restricted area
Photo: FILIP SINGER / EPA
More ammunition could detonate at any time: The fire around a police detonation site in Berlin's Grunewald forest continues to pose challenges for the fire brigade.
According to the emergency services, extinguishing work is life-threatening, in the evening explosions could also be heard at a distance of 1200 meters.
A mission with a special robot equipped with cameras
from the Bundeswehr
had to be canceled because of the detonations.
On Friday, from 7 a.m., they wanted to discuss how to proceed, said fire department spokesman James Klein.
After that, it would probably be easier to estimate until when further impairments to traffic can be expected.
The cause of the fire is still unclear - and also whether it burned first or exploded first.
The Bundeswehr and the Berlin police should take pictures so that a demolition expert can assess the situation.
The fire broke out early Thursday morning.
Explosions could be heard before sunrise, and flames were blazing on and around the blast site in Grunewald.
When firefighters arrived,
several buildings were already engulfed in flames
.
The fire spread significantly over the course of the day in the bone-dry forest area.
Fire brigade spokesman Klein said the fire brigade had received support from other federal states and from the Bundeswehr in the form of
four armored tracked vehicles
.
This includes, for example, a fire fighting vehicle, which gives the emergency services new options.
Armored recovery vehicles also approached.
The fire brigade had drawn a
restricted circle of around 1000 meters
around the blast site .
The first extinguishing work was carried out within the security zone late Thursday afternoon.
"A blasting site like this doesn't belong in a local recreation area."
»Such a blast site does not belong in a local recreation area«
On Friday night, however, the fire did not spread beyond the restricted area.
"The fires could be kept within the ring position," said the fire brigade.
More special technology had arrived that could help to explore the exclusion zone.
Task forces had watered the adjacent forest areas to make it more difficult for the flames to spread.
Due to the fire in Berlin's Grunewald forest, the Avus motorway in southwest Berlin will initially remain closed.
Train traffic is also affected by the traffic restrictions, said a spokesman for the Berlin fire brigade.
According to the fire brigade, residential areas are not in danger from the fire, the nearest residential buildings are at least two kilometers away.
In the meantime, the discussion has begun as to whether the police detonation site in Grunewald is in the right place.
Berlin's CDU head of state Kai Wegner has called for negotiations with Brandenburg about a joint explosive site for both countries.
The right consequences must be drawn from the fire in Grunewald on and around the Berlin police blast site, Wegner said in the rbb "Abendschau".
"A blasting site like this doesn't belong in a local recreation area."
Criticism of explosive ordnance disposal by the countries
Berlin's Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey announced that she would like to talk about the location.
"We have to think about how we will deal with this explosive site in the future and whether such a place is the right place in Berlin," said the SPD politician after a visit to Grunewald, for which she had interrupted her vacation.
Giffey announced talks with Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) about the possibilities for such cooperation in the metropolitan region.
Berlin's Senator for the Environment, Bettina Jarasch, complained that the number of forest fires had increased across Germany and Europe in recent years.
"Of course, that has to do with climate change - not this fire, mind you, but the overall increase," said the Green politician.
"And we have to adapt to that." Disaster and civil protection must also be given higher priority, but so must cooperation between the fire brigade and forestry.
Meanwhile, experts have criticized failures in the clearance of explosive ordnance and firefighting in Germany.
"Ordnance clearance is a state matter, everyone cooks their own soup," said Jürgen Plum from the German Quality Protection Association for Ordnance Clearance to the newspapers of the Bayern media group.
In addition, the disposal of explosive ordnance often fails because of the costs.
"There's no more money to clear forests," said Plum.
»But when it comes to explosive sites from the post-war period, you should think again about not cleaning them up after all.
After the war, large quantities of ammunition were destroyed there in an inappropriate manner.« Much of the material was more likely to be thrown around – and still dangerous.
Apr/dpa/AFP
