When there's a fire in the parking garage
In Bern's Jupiter quarter, a fire in the parking garage caused high property damage. Five vehicles were destroyed and over 100 cars suffered damage from soot fallout.
Shortly after midnight on Monday, two fire alarm systems triggered the alarm of the Bern Fire Department: There was a fire in the underground car park of Bern's Jupiter Quarter. On site, the fire department found heavy smoke in the winding parking garage, which extends over the entire building complex, which made the localization of the fire almost impossible, as the fire department reports. Because of the lack of visibility, the firefighters had to orient themselves according to the sounds of the fire and the thermal imaging camera. Finally, they reached the source of the fire and extinguished five cars that were on full fire.
Fight against the smoke
With the help of the mobile large fan, several high-performance ventilators and the ventilation installed in the halls, it was possible to blow the smoke away from the various hiring hall areas and at the same time prevent it from spreading into the stairwells.
Numerous residents had gone out of their apartments into the open air. However, they were able to return there - with the instruction to close the windows.
After control measurements of the fire department, the cantonal police Bern released the parking garage section by section. For the time being, the two sections with the destroyed vehicles and those affected by the soot remain closed. Specialists of the cantonal police have taken up the investigation into the cause of the fire. A building statistician examined the considerably damaged parking hall ceiling in the fire area. The property damage to vehicles and the building is likely to amount to several 100,000 Swiss francs.
In view of the special situation, the fire department was on site with a large contingent: the professional fire department was supported by the fire corps company Bern East as well as the fire departments Köniz, Ostermundigen and AMG (Allmendingen, Muri, Gümligen), according to the FZ-News of the city of Bern.
Fires break out in parking garages again and again, in the canton of Bern every two to three weeks. How can this be prevented? How can the damage caused by a fire be contained? More on this topic in the next issue of the SecurityForum to read.
