High property damage in major fire in Horn

A former factory site in Horn on Lake Constance is ablaze. (Pictures: Matthias Graf, Kapo Thurgau)

In the morning shortly before 5:30 a.m., an employee of a rented company noticed strong smoke coming from a warehouse on the former factory premises on Seestrasse and alerted the cantonal emergency call center at the Thurgau Cantonal Police (Kapo). Upon the arrival of the fire departments, flames were bursting out of the roof of the building. Despite the firefighting efforts of the fire departments, the fire spread to other parts of the winding building complex. The hall in which the fire had broken out collapsed. The extinguishing work was still continuing in the late afternoon. According to the command center, the fire is now under control. More than 200 people from the Horn local fire department, the Arbon fire department and the fire departments of Egnach, Goldach, Rorschach and Steinach were involved in the fire-fighting operation. The fire departments were supported by the army, which dropped water on the burning buildings for hours with two Super Pumas and a Eurocopter.

No one was injured in the fire, and there were no people in the burning or collapsed buildings. According to the Office for the Environment of the Canton of Thurgau, there was no danger to people or the environment. The amount of property damage can not yet be quantified, it is likely to be between several hundred thousand and several million francs, as the Kapo writes.

The cause of the major fire is not yet known. The fire investigation service of the Kapo Thurgau and the forensic service have started their investigations. In addition, an electrical expert was called in.

Witness appeal

Anyone who can provide information about the fire or who made observations between Sunday evening and Monday morning is asked to contact the Arbon cantonal police station on 071 221 41 00.