Fire department called to Bonn-Tannenbusch Major fire at Bertolt-Brecht school sports hall
Tannenbusch · A fire broke out in the the gymnasium of the Bertolt-Brecht secondary school in Bonn-Tannenbusch in the early hours of Sunday morning. A witness had observed a heated argument in the immediate vicinity before the fire broke out. Several fire department units were called to put out the blaze.
A fire in the sports hall of the Bertolt-Brecht secondary school in Bonn-Tannenbusch triggered a large-scale response from Bonn's fire department early on Sunday morning. Several residents called the emergency number shortly after two o'clock to report a blaze and heavy smoke on the premises of the municipal secondary school. The first units to arrive at the scene confirmed that there was a major fire in the school gym.
Neighbor observes dispute and warns party-goers
About 20 minutes before the fire broke out, a neighbor had observed a heated argument between several people in the immediate vicinity of the school gymnasium. One man was said to have been extremely aggressive and was only able to be calmed down by a woman who was present. "The two initially left the street, but returned shortly thereafter," the witness said. Just after that, she noticed the fire and immediately notified the fire department. Whether the quarrel was related to the fire remains unclear.
At the same time, there were around 20 people attending a party on the second floor of the sports hall. The resident and her nephew alerted those party-goers about the fire. "At first, they didn't want to believe us that there was really a fire," the resident told the GA. But eventually, she said the party-goers did believe her and evacuated the building. It is also not clear whether those involved in the dispute outside the gymnasium were also attending the party on the second floor.
More units called in to help fight the blaze
The fire department arrived quickly on the scene. In order to prevent the fire from spreading and because of the need for an adequate supply of water for extinguishing the fire, the fire commander raised the alarm level, calling in additional units. A total of around 60 firefighters were on the scene, using two turntable ladders in their efforts to battle the blaze.
At around three o'clock in the morning, the firefighting efforts finally proved successful, preventing the fire from spreading to neighboring buildings. But firefighters continued to put out the last of the embers until the early hours.
Fire department uses drone
In order to get an overview of the situation from above and to inspect the roof of the school sports hall for pockets of embers, the fire department used a drone with a thermal imaging camera. After completing the mission and clean-up work, the fire department rolled out at around 6:30 am.
But on Sunday at noon, the firefighters had to return to the scene of the fire because smoke was coming out of the building. It was monitored for safety.
The Police Criminal Investigation Department began their work on the case already in the night. In response to a GA inquiry on Sunday, police had not yet identified the cause of the fire. With regard to the group that had a dispute in the vicinity just before the fire broke out, there was also no further information available. Witnesses should contact the police at 0228/150.
School sports hall was heavily damaged
No one was injured in the fire but the sports hall was so badly damaged that it can no longer be used at present. Fire-fighting units from many areas of Bonn were called out to help battle the blaze.
(Orig. text: Michael Wrobel, Axel Vogel, Translation: Carol Kloeppel)
