Enlarge image
The Avus motorway near the fire site: still closed
Photo: Fabian Sommer / dpa
Four days after a fire broke out at a blast site in Berlin's Grunewald, there is still no real relaxation in sight: the A115 motorway (Avus) will remain closed for the time being, as the fire brigade announced.
Whether this is still necessary is checked several times a day in situation assessments.
A spokesman said there should be another assessment on Monday evening.
A release of the highway is not yet expected.
It will only be possible if the radius of the restricted area is further reduced from the current 550 meters.
Initially it was 1000 meters.
At the blasting site, where the police stored tons of old grenades, ammunition and confiscated fireworks, temperatures were still 140 degrees Celsius in some areas, so there was still a risk of explosion, a spokesman said.
The firefighters can therefore not enter the area.
The emergency services gain access with a converted tank that can spray water.
The hot ground and the ammunition lying around can also be cooled with extinguishing robots.
Because the area is large, impassable, confusing and traversed by buildings and fences, this cooling with water is very difficult, it said.
explosions in the night
In addition, there are still embers on the blast site.
The wind makes some places flare up again.
World War II bombs and numerous large cartridges were scattered everywhere by the explosions on Thursday night.
If an explosive device explodes, parts of it could injure people or be thrown onto the highway, according to the fire department.
The spokesman said there had probably never been a comparable use of a fire brigade in post-war Germany.
A total of around 250 emergency services were on site on Monday.
According to previous knowledge, the fire broke out on the blast site on Thursday night, the cause is not yet known.
The police want to clarify whether it was arson.
There were explosions because of the stored ammunition and ordnance.
The railway line, which runs parallel to the motorway but at a slightly greater distance from the forest fire, was also initially closed.
Trains have been running here since Saturday.
In view of the events, there is debate as to whether the explosive site, which has existed since 1950, is in the right place.
At the end of the day, the fire brigade at least had good news for all animal lovers.
A flock of sheep was brought to safety.
She had survived the flames and explosions at the police detonation site unscathed.
However, she then stayed for days in the restricted area around one kilometer around the blasting site, which emergency services could not easily enter for safety reasons.
According to the fire department, the shepherd had provided a water supply for two days.
When that ran out, individual firefighters and police officers, using heavy equipment, rushed to the flock to provide the sheep with new water.
On Monday, the herd left the restricted area partly independently, partly with the support of helpers, according to the fire brigade.
bbr/dpa