Prague, May 9 (CTK) – The fire that broke out on Tuesday in Prague’s Hostivar district and was brought under control Tuesday night caused damage estimated at 45 million crowns, police spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova said in a press release on Wednesday.
Wednesday morning, the firefighters dropped the ban on opening windows and leaving buildings which was declared in the surrounding area on Tuesday afternoon due to poisonous substances detected in the fire fumes.
The fire started around 13:00 and it took 12 hours to bring it under control. The explosion that occurred one hour later in the burning hall may have been caused by pressure cylinders. The hall was likely a store of plastic foam or tires. There are currently the last three units extinguishing hidden hearts of the fire, firefighters’ spokesman Martin Kavka said.
A total of 39 firefighter units from Prague and five units from the Central Bohemia Region were deployed at the site, with almost 200 firefighters taking turns to extinguish the fire.
A helicopter, a chemical laboratory and a special robot extinguishing the fire inside the burning hall were also used among other devices.
The chief of the Prague firefighters, Roman Hlinovsky, has also come to the scene.
“Prague’s firefighters have to be hugely complimented. They not only managed to fight the fire, but first and foremost did their best to prevent the inhabitants of the district from being endangered. Meanwhile, they had to cope with a lack of water in the area when the hydrant network collapsed,” Prague councillor Libor Hadrava said on Wednesday, commending the police and the rescuers as well.
Due to the lack of water in the hydrants in the area when the fire started, the Prague Water Supply and Sewerage Company (PVK) had to increase the pressure in the water pipes.
The top, fourth degree of fire alert was declared on Tuesday. This is done if a fire threatens over 1,000 people or areas of over one square kilometre. It is also declared if the means from other regions have to be used.
One nearby street is still closed due to the fire extinguishing.
