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The day after the big fire at the Onkel-Toms-Hütte metro station in Zehlendorf, it still smells of soot. Here and there you can see traces of foam from the extinction process. In the hallway, the ceiling has partially fallen down, the fire tracks can be clearly seen. The shopping street is cordoned off, police and passersby stand in front of the entrances on either side. Many people ask the police what the mall is like and when it can be used again, but they still don’t know.
In a fire Sunday night, meter-high flames spread to the ceiling of the subway station. A fire department spokesman at the scene said a life-threatening injured person was airlifted to a special burn clinic. Three people suffered mild smoke inhalation, including a child.
According to police, a 41-year-old witness heard a loud bang shortly before 9 p.m. in the line of shops at the station, and shortly after saw a fire in a snack bar. By 11.30pm, the fire was largely under control. But even Monday morning, nearly two dozen firefighters were still busy with firefighting work, as announced by the situation service to the armed forces. “The work is still going on.”
The cause of the fire is not yet clear.
A fire department spokesperson confirmed that the fire had initially started at a snack bar in the adjacent row of stores and had spread to two other stores. The flames were meters high, he told himself, and there was also deflagration. It is currently unclear how the fire occurred. There was also no information available on the amount of damage that morning.
Rescuers rescued the seriously injured 32-year-old operator from the burning cafeteria; he is being treated in intensive care. A 28-year-old cleaner at the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe and a 12-year-old resident suffered mild smoke inhalation.
“All the people buy here”
A 72-year-old man stands in front of the subway station on Monday afternoon. He heard a loud bang during the night, says: “The glass in my kitchen windows vibrated from the bang.” From the window he could see how the flames were burning over the train station and a lot of smoke had risen. Shopping at the mall: “everyone is shopping here.” Now she has to take the bus to do her shopping. “A lot of older people live here. It’s particularly stupid for them.”
Another resident also says that the shopping street is important to a lot of people here. Many went shopping here, there were not many alternatives in the area. Furthermore, it would be extremely troublesome for her and her family if the subway station was no longer available. Without a car, the train station is the only connection to the city in the immediate vicinity.
It is unclear when the subway will return to normal
Train traffic on the U3 line is interrupted between the Breitenbachplatz underground station and the Krumme Lanke underground station. A replacement bus service has been created. According to a spokeswoman, the BVG sent structural engineers to the scene of the fire and is now awaiting their expert opinion. The location on the site must be verified by other construction experts. The BVG hopes that the route can be resumed simply by driving through Uncle Tom’s cabin. It remains to be seen if this will be possible and depends on the condition of the stop.
It is crucial that the beams of the structure are in a condition that guarantees safe passage. It’s unclear when regular operations can resume. First, the rail replacement service will run in the constellation as it is now, according to the spokeswoman.
The Berlin fire brigade was at the scene at night with around 120 emergency services. Although the fire is now under control, according to the fire department spokesperson, there is no longer any danger to residents. However, small nests of embers were lit over and over again.
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The firefighting work was complicated because the flat roof covered with roofing felt was no longer stable enough to be entered and extinguished directly from above, the fire department spokesman explained. At the same time, emergency services tried to reach the source of the fire through holes drilled in the ceiling. The technical aid organization was also in action.
The flames did not spread to the next house, but there was a lot of smoke. At night, shreds of roofing felt and fire-fighting foam lay on the ground around the subway station. The Argentinische Allee between Onkel-Tom-Straße and Riemeisterstraße was brilliantly lit by emergency vehicles, the scene of the fire itself has been completely devastated, the section is still closed. Due to the dense development of smoke, two residential buildings on Riemeisterstraße had to be evacuated.
The local transport situation in the area was aggravated on Monday morning by a disruption of the S-Bahn S1 line between Friedenau and Zehlendorf, due to a call from an emergency doctor in the Steglitz town hall. That is why the Mexikoplatz train station, which is located near the Onkel Toms Hütte metro station, was not used. Recently, a renaming of the Onkel-Toms-Hütte metro station was discussed. (with dpa)
