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Fire brigade warns of toxic smoke after a major fire in Hamburg

4/9/2023 7:56 am

“Hamburg’s city center is completely blacked out,” says the fire brigade. The reason: Two warehouses are on fire in Rothenburgsort. A cloud of smoke drifts towards the city. The fire brigade is calling for the area to be bypassed over a wide area. Train traffic is also affected.

A major fire broke out in two warehouses in Hamburg. This resulted in a huge cloud of smoke, which drifted towards the city center due to the north-easterly wind. The fire brigade warned in one official danger announcement the local residents and pointed out the heavy smoke development. “The population in the Hamburg area can be affected by smoke gases and chemical components in the breathing air due to a fire,” it says.

“Hamburg city center is completely blacked out,” said a spokesman for the Hamburg fire department. According to initial findings, no one was injured. The fire brigade advised to drive around the affected area. “We will inform you when the danger is over. Follow the instructions of the emergency services,” it said. The access routes to the fire site should be kept clear, doors and windows closed, ventilation and air conditioning systems switched off. “Please also notify your neighbors, particularly those who may need assistance due to disabilities, language barriers or reduced mobility.”

The fire broke out around 4:30 a.m. According to the NDR, there were always detonations. Firefighters could only enter the site with respirators. The fire brigade is on site in a large-scale operation. According to the NDR, it should be the largest fire brigade operation in the past ten years.

Disruptions in rail traffic

The railway informed about impairments in train traffic on the Hamburg Berlin route. The S-Bahn traffic is also partially affected. Rothenburgsort is located east of the city center on the Elbe and borders, among other things, on Hafencity.

It is still unclear how the big fire could have happened on Easter night. According to the fire brigade, several so-called tanks leaked and burst on the site of a truck stop. They contained flammable liquids. It is still unclear what exactly the chemicals are. According to a report by the NDR, it was said to have been hydrogen sulfide. The fire and smoke were classified as “extreme danger” in the official warning.

“This is a really extraordinary, difficult operation,” said a fire department spokesman from the site. He assumed that the extinguishing work, in which around 210 emergency services were involved, would continue throughout the day. Only then can the police begin their fire investigation.