A major fire kept residents and rescue workers in Ottobrunn in suspense for hours on Tuesday afternoon. At 1 p.m., the emergency control center received the alarm, according to which a fire had broken out in Haselweg, a cottage settlement on Ranhazweg. One of the houses – apparently after an explosion – was on fire, as were the two adjacent buildings. Almost 150 fire brigades from all over the area, such as Ottobrunn, Unterhaching, Haar and Neubiberg, tried to put out the fire.
At around 4.15 p.m., Armin Ganserer, the head of Police Inspection 28 in Ottobrunn, gave the all-clear: The fire was under control, but there were still pockets of embers in the roof area of the most severely affected house, which were still being fought. An inspection of the building by the criminal police and fire brigade operations management later in the afternoon remained largely unsuccessful because of the enormous degree of destruction. More intensive investigations should take place on Wednesday morning, said a police spokesman for the SZ on request in the evening. The residents of the bungalows on Haselweg could not return to their houses for the time being, some buildings would first have to be statically examined. The water supply is also not secured for the time being.
It was unclear on Tuesday evening whether there were people in the house in which the explosion was alleged to have occurred. One resident was considered missing, a neighbor had to be taken to hospital with slight smoke inhalation. A crisis intervention team was on site to look after the residents. The Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe had set up a care center in their watch in Riemerling, where residents from neighboring houses could be temporarily accommodated. There the residents are also available by phone for relatives who are worried, said Johanniter spokesman Gerhard Bieber of the SZ.
For the time being, the operations managers were unable to provide any information about the cause of the accident. A possible gas explosion has not yet been ruled out. The entire area around the settlement with atrium houses was cordoned off for hours and the Ranhazweg was completely closed at times. At around 2:45 p.m., warning sirens sounded briefly in Ottobrunn. Katwarn reported that gases had been released as a result of the fire, which resulted in “unpleasant smells and impaired vision”.