The fire in Grunewald did not spread beyond the restricted area on Friday night. However, the Avus Autobahn in southwest Berlin remains closed. “The fires could be contained within the ring position”, the fire department said on Twitter on Friday morning. In a first briefing in the morning, further action is to be discussed. Train traffic is also further affected by the traffic restrictions, said a fire department spokesman.
More special technology had arrived during the night, which could help to explore the exclusion zone. These are three remote-controlled robots that could penetrate deeper into the area. Armored vehicles that could extinguish the fire were also brought. The main problem is still the blast site where the fire broke out, said a fire department spokesman. “We have to expect that detonations and debris will continue to fly.” Ammunition is stored in the square. The use of a camera-equipped and remote-controlled special robot from the Bundeswehr, with which the situation on the blast site was to be investigated, had to be canceled in the evening.
On Thursday, the emergency services had drawn a restricted circle of around 1,000 meters around the blast site. The first extinguishing work was carried out within the security zone late Thursday afternoon. Task forces had watered the adjacent forest areas to make it more difficult for the flames to spread.
The fire broke out early Thursday morning. Explosions could be heard before sunrise, and flames were blazing in the area around the blast site in Grunewald. The cause of the fire is still unclear – and also the question of whether it burned first or exploded first. During Thursday, the fire spread significantly in the dry forest area.
The fire brigade received support from other federal states and from the Bundeswehr in the form of four armored tracked vehicles, a spokesman said. This includes, for example, a fire fighting vehicle, which gives the emergency services new options. According to the fire brigade, residential areas are not in danger from the fire, the nearest residential buildings are at least two kilometers away. The area was cordoned off extensively. This also affects the Avus motorway and parts of the regional, long-distance and S-Bahn traffic.