- A residential complex with 39 apartments in Essen burned down early Monday morning.
- The damage is in the tens of millions, said the boss of the owner company Vivawest.
- The day after the major fire, damage assessment begins – a new police robot helps with this. The cause of the fire is still unclear.
The affected residential complex had to be completely demolished after the devastating fire. This was announced by Uwe Eichner, head of Vivawest, at a press conference in Essen. Demolition and renovation of the fire site, including the underground car park below, are very time-consuming. In order to be able to make statements about the cause of the fire, expert reports would have to be awaited.
Robot examines collapsing house
A four-legged police robot was also used to investigate the fire on Tuesday afternoon: the 35-kilogram walking robot was presented just a few weeks ago at an appointment with NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul in Duisburg. He used cameras and sensors to examine the house, which was in danger of collapsing and is still closed to the public.
Legend:
Statements on the cause of the fire and the reasons for the very rapid spread of the fire are still not possible, emphasized Uwe Eichner.
Reuters
No irregularities in construction
After studying the construction files, there are no indications of irregularities or bungling in the construction of the house, which was completed in 2015, emphasized Essen’s head of regulatory affairs, Christian Kromberg. «There were no difficulties either in the building permit process or in the building inspection. At this point in time, we can and must assume that everything went correctly,” said the Essen department head.
At this point in time, we can and must assume that everything went correctly.
The fire victims either found private accommodation or were provided with apartments and hotel rooms at the expense of Vivawest. “No one was homeless,” said Kromberg. The city makes it possible for those affected to retrieve burned ID cards and papers unbureaucratically, i.e. without an appointment and without costs. A spokeswoman said that donations of around 100,000 euros had already been collected for those affected in the city.