Baden-Württemberg: damage in the millions in a fire in a company warehouse

Pforzheim (dpa / lsw) - A fire in a warehouse of a waste disposal company in Pforzheim caused millions in damage.

Baden-Württemberg: damage in the millions in a fire in a company warehouse

Pforzheim (dpa / lsw) - A fire in a warehouse of a waste disposal company in Pforzheim caused millions in damage. According to the fire brigade and police, waste materials caught fire on Thursday afternoon for initially unknown reasons - including paper, cardboard and electronic waste. The flames quickly spread to the entire hall. The employees of the company were able to get to safety. Several press machines and five vehicles parked next to the hall were partially completely destroyed.

There is no evidence of intentional arson. The police estimate the damage at five million euros. Because of the heavy smoke and the firefighting operation, federal highway 294 and the nearby railway line were closed for hours. The fire brigade prevented the fire from spreading to the hall of another company, in which, according to them, easily flammable materials were stored.

The extinguishing work lasted until Friday morning. The Pforzheim fire brigade was deployed with 31 vehicles and 103 workers, as well as an excavator and a wheel loader from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, a police helicopter and a drone. The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.

In parallel to the hall fire, other alarms were received, including a fire alarm in a retirement home and two wildfires. Almost all breathing apparatus and fire hoses were used during the operations, and the warehouse for clean protective clothing was almost empty. "The Pforzheim fire brigade expects a few working days to fully restore operational readiness," it said in a statement.