Anyone who lives in the western part of Berlin or in one of the neighboring communities in Brandenburg may have been woken up by the noise of the fire brigade sirens on Thursday morning. Or, like Helene Stolzenberg, who lives in the Zehlendorf district, and says: “I woke up at 3:20 a.m. with an incredibly loud bang.”
Two hours later, at 5.12 a.m., the Berlin fire brigade sent out an official hazard announcement: “Big fire in the Grunewald forest”, and from the reports that then gradually came in from the emergency services, it quickly became clear that the situation was serious. Because it is not a normal forest fire in the recreation area appreciated by many people, but an operation in a place where explosive materials are stored in large quantities.
Black smoke hangs over Berlin, you could even see it from Kreuzberg.
(Photo: Gerd Roth/dpa)
The scene of the incident is a police detonation site, which is approximately at the level of the Hüttenweg junction, west of the A 115 motorway, in the middle of Grunewald. At this point, and that is the problem in this case, according to the police, 25 tons of fireworks and World War II ammunition, among other things, are stored.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear on Thursday. “We’re trying to get to the place with the fire investigators as quickly as we can,” says police chief Barbara Slowik. Residents and the emergency services perceived clear detonations, many therefore suspect that there was an unintentional explosion at the blast site, which subsequently triggered further explosions.
This coincides with what Helene Stolzenberg experienced in Zehlendorf, about four kilometers from the blast site. “The first bang sounded like a bomb, I thought that’s what war must sound like,” she says on the phone. After the big bang, many, many small bangs could be heard. “It didn’t stop, and at some point it sounded like fireworks,” says Stolzenberg. It went on like this until after six in the morning. Explosions mixed with sirens and helicopters.
The fire brigade was alerted at 3:24 a.m. Videos can be found on social networks that show some of the subsequent detonations from afar. A video is also circulating that shows a night sky lit up glowing red behind trees that stand on a site fenced in with barbed wire. Loud explosions can be heard and beacons can be seen in the approximately 45-second recording.
At least 120 firefighters are on duty in Grunewald on Thursday, as well as special forces from the Bundeswehr. An area of 50 hectares is affected, some of which are only covered with smoke. But the ammunition stored on the site is a big challenge, they say. The fire brigade was only able to start extinguishing the fire early Thursday evening. However, only within a safety zone at a distance of 1000 meters from the source of the fire – the use is too dangerous due to the repeated explosions and flying debris.
If the firefighters entered the area, their lives would probably be in acute danger. “The exclusion zone of 1,000 meters remains in place. But it is possible that we as the fire brigade can now work in certain areas up to 500 meters,” says a spokesman for the Berlin fire brigade. “That means some of the extinguishing work has already started.” The situation is still confusing, in the early evening there were again explosions at the police detonation site. The use of a remote-controlled special robot by the Bundeswehr then had to be stopped. There were several more detonations afterwards.
The aerial view of the Berlin fire brigade shows the fire from above. The area is relatively small at 1.5 hectares, but there is a risk of further explosions.
(Photo: dpa)
The fire may keep the emergency services busy for the next few days. “But we will put out the fire.” However, the use of a fire-fighting helicopter over the ammunition-loaded area does not make sense. The helicopter would have to fly so high that it would not be able to extinguish the fire sufficiently from the air. It must also be prevented that ammunition “takes the helicopter out of the sky,” explains a brigadier general.
Meanwhile, the fire continues to spread in a ring shape, according to the fire department. The only thing she can do right now to keep the flames from spreading is to irrigate the surrounding wooded areas. Because the dangerous ammunition is aggravated by the drought. After all, showers are forecast for Friday afternoon.
On Twitter, they are already asking whether it is wise to set up a camp with huge amounts of ammunition in a place in the middle of the forest in times of great heat. The blasting site in Grunewald has existed since 1950. Controlled blasting is carried out here twice a year for several days. In the afternoon, Berlin’s governing mayor Franziska Giffey announced that she wanted to talk about the location. “We have to think about how we will deal with this explosive site in the future and whether such a place is the right place in Berlin.” At the moment she is particularly happy “that there are no residential buildings in the immediate vicinity and that we don’t have to evacuate anyone”.
Roads were closed, and there are also impairments in rail traffic
Several roads will be closed because of the fire, including the A 115 motorway with the old Avus race track, one of the most important transport links in the capital, through which tens of thousands of cars from Brandenburg usually drive to the western part of Berlin during rush hour. There are also impairments in rail traffic. The railway announces on its website that both regional and long-distance traffic are interrupted.
Meanwhile, the fire brigade warns the population against entering the Grunewald. The area is cordoned off over a large area. Residents in the surrounding districts should keep windows and doors closed and also switch off ventilation and air conditioning. However, there is no immediate risk that the fire will spread to houses, as the nearest residential buildings are at least two kilometers away.
Police officers prepare to evacuate if necessary. The fire brigade warns against entering the Grunewald.
(Photo: Paul Zinken/dpa)
At first, says the resident, Stolzenberg, she was concerned. She also noticed that her neighbors had become “more and more restless”. From her apartment she could not see any of the explosions or the fire. Not being able to classify what was going on at first – a gas explosion, fireworks, even a terrorist attack? – that was distressing.
At some point the reports came, on the radio and on the news pages of the newspapers, says Stolzenberg. “You realize that you can deal with the situation better if you know what it is.”