Fire in disused Wismar malt factory extinguished, police suspect arson

What happened

A fire broke out on Sunday, 18 October, in the Wismaria, a former malt factory in the Hanseatic city of Wismar on the Baltic coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The alarm reached the Wismar fire service shortly before 16:00, when flames were already coming out of the brick building and had spread across the whole upper floor. The building has stood empty for decades. NDR reports that the factory ruin is under heritage protection and is known as a 'Lost Place'. Dpa and N-tv describe the building as a former paper factory, while Berliner Zeitung and NDR call it a malt factory, so reports differ on its earlier use.

Firefighting effort

The professional fire brigade of Wismar was on site and repeatedly requested reinforcements as the fire grew. In total nine volunteer fire brigades from Wismar and the surrounding area were deployed to bring the flames under control. Berliner Zeitung reports that the crews declared the fire extinguished shortly before 19:00, roughly three hours after the first alarm. According to police, firefighting operations were ended late in the evening, so the two accounts describe the same end point from different angles.

Smoke, odour and warnings

Dense smoke hung over the city for hours and spread an odour across the urban area. The city of Wismar asked residents to close doors and windows and to switch off air-conditioning and ventilation systems temporarily so that smoke would not enter buildings. The Integrated Fire and Rescue Control Centre Schwerin issued an official warning for the district of Nordwestmecklenburg at 16:00. According to that control centre there was no health risk despite the heavy smoke. The area around the site was to be avoided so that crews could work without interruption, and smoke was expected to clear gradually once the fire was out. Residents were pointed to local radio and a warning app for updates.

Rail disruption

The factory stands directly beside the railway tracks, so trains could not pass the building while the fire was burning. The RE8 service was interrupted temporarily during the operation. Berliner Zeitung later reported that rail traffic appeared to be running again, although passengers on the RE8 were still advised to check the status before setting off.

Cause and injuries

Police suspect arson, but the cause of the fire has not been established. The NDR report describes the origin as still unclear. According to first findings from the police, no one was hurt, because the building was unused. Police and the city have not reported any damage figures or further casualties in the sources reviewed so far.