As of: March 18, 2024, 4:20 p.m
By: Andrea Gräpel
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At 9:20 a.m. yesterday morning the alarm was received by the Herrsching volunteer fire department.
The “boatswain” noticed the smoke and called the emergency number before even greater damage could occur.
© Herrsching Volunteer Fire Department
The ground floor of the recently renovated clubhouse of the Academic Sailing Club in Munich in Herrsching was completely burned out yesterday morning.
The police estimate the damage to be at least 200,000 euros.
Herrsching
- It was pure coincidence that Arno Grunert went to the grounds of the Academic Sailing Club in Munich on Rieder Straße in Herrsching yesterday morning, says the club's chairman, Prof. Dr.
Michael Schönberg.
Grunert is the club’s “boatswain” and is currently on vacation.
Yesterday morning, when he "by chance" came to the area, which was located directly between the lake and the lake promenade, hidden behind a large hedge, he saw heavy smoke coming from the clubhouse and alerted the fire department.
In an interview with the Starnberger Merkur, Schönberg calls it “a bit of luck in misfortune” that new windows and doors had just been installed in the house.
“That’s why they were sealed, otherwise there would have been a chimney effect and the damage would have been even greater.”
According to the police headquarters in Upper Bavaria North, the officers estimate the damage at around 200,000 euros.
Schönberg assumes an even higher amount because the ground floor was completely affected.
Herrsching's commander Daniel Pleyer also confirms this.
The entire building was actually affected by the stairwell and hallway, says Schönberg.
The clubhouse of the Academic Sailing Club dates from the 1920s/1930s.
The boats remained intact.
© Herrsching Volunteer Fire Department
The Herrsching volunteer fire department was on site with 18 emergency services and a fire engine, but still had to alert comrades from the Breitbrunn volunteer fire department, who rushed to the scene with another eight firefighters and two vehicles.
The extinguishing work took almost three hours and attracted a lot of attention on the busy Rieder Straße.
Luckily no one was injured.
The Academic Sailing Club in Munich is a student association that dates back to 1902. “We are one of the oldest sailing clubs in Bavaria,” says Schönberg proudly.
He is glad that the windows and doors were replaced and the damage was limited.
“There were flames, but it could have been worse,” he says.
According to the police, the building is currently locked and is not allowed to be entered.
Criminal Investigation Department took over the investigation.
“But it probably cannot be assumed that there was any external influence,” says a spokesman for the Presidium.
There will be findings on this on Tuesday.
Schönberg also assumes a technical defect.
He sounds optimistic in conversation.
“You have to see what the fire damage expert says and what the soot has done in the house.” If the report is available and the insurance company pays out the benefit quickly, one or two regattas can still take place this year and the season can still be used.
After all, the club was founded for students who would otherwise not have the opportunity to sail.
In Herrsching they have, among other things, “the largest sailing ship in Bavaria” at their disposal – the 15 meter long “Wiking III”.
The Academic Sailing Club currently has 330 members, most of them from Herrsching.
“Once you're a member, you're a member for life,” says Schönberg.