After a major fire on an industrial site in the Wunsiedel district, the investigation into the cause has begun. As soon as the fire site is accessible, investigators will begin their work, a police spokesman said. The extent of the damage should then be more precisely estimated. Damage in the millions is to be expected in view of the devastating flames.
On Wednesday morning, the Wunsiedel district lifted the disaster alert that had been declared the day before. The situation on site had eased to such an extent that it was no longer expected that forces from other places would be called out again. Numerous emergency services from neighboring districts such as Hof, Bayreuth and Tirschenreuth as well as from the Karlovy Vary district in the Czech Republic had helped on site, said District Administrator Peter Berek. With “all forces” they had managed to get the fire under control.
According to the Integrated Control Center of Upper Franconia, the Czech forces arrived with a telescopic articulated boom vehicle with a working height of 42 meters. A fire-fighting robot was deployed from the Bayreuth district. The fire in a company for electrical engineering components in Wunsiedel broke out early on Tuesday morning. Due to the heavy smoke and the possibility of toxic fumes escaping, the population was asked to stay indoors and keep doors and windows closed. The Marktredwitz-Hof railway line was closed. At midday, the district office declared a disaster in order to be able to organize support from other municipalities.
The Holenbrunn town center was open again on Wednesday, bus services ran as scheduled, and trains were also able to run again. A large-scale exercise planned for the weekend in the Wunsiedel district involving German and Czech emergency services has since been canceled. A forest fire scenario was actually supposed to be simulated. The large-scale fire puts a lot of strain on the emergency services, so the exercise was canceled and will be held next year, the district office announced.