A fire broke out in a park on Gotlindestrasse in Lichtenberg on the night of Pentecost Sunday. More than 50 square meters of vegetation were caught by the flames, a fire department spokesman told the Tagesspiegel.
Initially, it was assumed that there was a smaller fire in an area of only 30 square meters and after the fire report at 1:21 a.m., smaller fire engines drove to the scene of the fire. “But then we ordered a few more vehicles to get the fire under control safely and quickly,” said the spokesman.
This was also successful after almost two hours: At 3.12 a.m., the 22 emergency services with seven fire engines had the fire under control. People were not harmed. The fire department spokesman could not comment on the cause.
At the request of the Tagesspiegel, the Berlin police announced that investigations had been initiated and that arson was assumed. “There is no evidence of spontaneous combustion,” said a spokesman.
However, that is exactly what should be the cause of a fire on Pentecost Saturday in a laundry warehouse in Alt-Hohenschönhausen. According to the police, the fire brigade was called to a warehouse on Werneuchener Straße around 1 p.m. where laundry caught fire. According to the current investigations, one assumes spontaneous combustion, it said.
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This can happen, for example, if laundry that is still damp or improperly cleaned and soiled with certain vegetable oils is stacked and rot develops. This would result in high temperatures, which could lead to self-ignition. No one was injured in the fire in Alt-Hohenschönhausen either.
Overall, the Pentecost weekend has been relatively quiet for the fire department in Berlin so far, the spokesman said. In contrast to Brandenburg, there is no increased risk of forest fires in the capital.
But that could change quickly with the high temperatures, which is why you should be careful with cigarette butts and open fire.
