Specialized fire engines were brought to Berlin’s Grunewald forest to tackle the fire, which posed a demanding challenge. Efforts to extinguish the fire at the ammunition depot were hampered by the explosion of a stored ordnance.
Specialist fire engines arrived in Berlin’s Grunewald Forest on Friday to tackle the blaze at the scene, which presented a complex challenge. Armored vehicles, tanks and fire robots were included.
Berlin’s fire department dispatched a range of specialist equipment to the forest, where the fire tore through debris-dried forests.
Initial efforts to put out the fire were hampered by explosions at the site, on the edge of the German capital, where ammunition was stored.
How is the blaze being tackled?
Firefighters on Thursday set up a kilometer (about half a mile) perimeter around the original blaze, prepared in a ring, to deal with the blaze as it spread. To see also : To launch a mental health program for firefighters to boost fire spending – Oregon Capital Chronicle.
Later in the day, the first work to extinguish the fire in the restricted area took place. Bundeswehr armored vehicles and tanks were on the list of equipment used to reduce risk and increase firefighting efforts.
The fire spread quickly after an explosion in the police ammunition depot
Emergency vehicles were allowed to advance up to 500 meters from the ordinance area.
The 200-by-200-meter space is used by the Berlin Explosive Disposal Service to store, deactivate and detonate munitions – especially those still found today after World War II.
Before the vehicles entered, the site was inspected from the air using drones, satellite images and helicopters. A thermal imaging camera was used to gain further clues as to how the fire could be tackled.
Firefighting efforts to continue throughout the day
Firefighters used “almost everything in Germany in terms of technology,” spokesman Thomas Kirstein said. See the article : The best music on TV in August | THIRTEEN – New York Public Media. Military experts and personnel are also available to assist.
Kirstein said the fires around the dump were mostly out, and about 150 firefighters were still on the scene Friday morning. Firefighting is expected to continue throughout the day.
Kirstein said an assessment is still underway to determine how dangerous the conditions are in the complex itself. That would determine whether firefighters can enter the area and whether nearby closed rail lines and a stretch of highway known as the AVUS could be reopened.
The site was set up in Cold War-era West Berlin in the 1950s, with 25 metric tons or more of fireworks, World War II ammunition and other explosives stored there before the fire started.
