Kaufbeuren – Many passers-by on Kaiser-Max-Straße looked in disbelief towards Afraberg last Thursday afternoon.
Because what they saw there was scary.
Meter-high flames and huge clouds of smoke erupted from the roof of the listed Hauberrisser house.
At around 1:30 p.m., the first reports of flames and clouds of smoke from the Rosenbrauerei premises were received via the police emergency call.
A few minutes later, the first emergency services from the police and fire brigade arrived at the scene of the fire.
The roof of the building was already on fire.
Local residents first described a loud bang, then smoke rose and the roof truss burst into flames. From there, the fire spread to the entire building.
The building that used to serve as the brewery of the Rosenbrauerei was not inhabited.
According to the current state of investigation (Friday noon), no people were injured by the fire.
The property damage is estimated at a seven-digit euro amount.
For Lord Mayor Stefan Bosse, the Hauberrisser house was one of Kaufbeuren's treasures.
Now the old brewery building is just a ruin, reduced to rubble and ashes by the fire.
"A building that shapes the cityscape is lost forever," said the mayor in an interview with the
district messenger
.
Bosse did not believe that the building could still be saved.
The roof truss was completely destroyed and the east side of the building was probably in danger of collapsing.
"It's a disaster," said the mayor.
As he further described, the situation at the time the fire broke out was very worrying.
Because after the first emergency call, two more alarms followed about alleged fires in the city center: in Kaiser-Max-Straße and Untere Bleiche.
However, bosses did not assume false alarms, but misunderstandings in view of the heavy smoke development.
Nevertheless, the fire department had to follow up all reports.
"So we had three fire reports at the same time," emphasized Bosse.
appeal to residents
After the freshening wind no longer allowed the smoke to escape upwards, the population was urged to keep windows and doors closed using warning apps and radio announcements.
Because the cloud of smoke initially turned yellow.
Material contaminated with asbestos was suspected.
"That was ultimately not confirmed," said City Fire Councilor Helmut Winkler.
No injuries
In addition to officers from the police inspection, the Kaufbeuren police and a police helicopter, the Kaufbeuren and Marktoberdorf fire brigades were also deployed with 128 forces.
The fire brigades extinguished the fire.
Surrounding access roads and roads to the Rosenbrauerei premises were closed with the support of the Kaufbeuren building yard.
According to Stadtbrandrat Winkler, the extinguishing and follow-up work lasted until late at night.
"Around 2.30 a.m. the last forces left the scene".
The Kaufbeur criminal police are now conducting the investigations under the direction of the Kempten public prosecutor's office.
The cause of the fire was still unclear until now (Friday afternoon).
Great plans
For the Lord Mayor, the brewery building was one of the monuments of Kaufbeuren.
Now it has become a robbery of the flames.
In the future it should decorate a new city quarter.
In 2018, a large part of the derelict brewery site (around 3.5 hectares) was sold to an investor from Munich, who is planning a modern residential area there, including an inclined elevator up to the Afraberg.
