Fire in WDR's Archive Building: Smoke, No Injuries
An unexpected blaze erupted in the basement of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) archive building in Cologne on a Tuesday, during some construction work. The fire department spokesperson shared that the smoke initially spread from the basement to the third floor, and then proceeded to the 13th floor due to the connecting shafts. Fortunately, no one was harmed in the incident.
A WDR spokesperson confirmed that the entire building was cleared during the operation, but it was unclear how many employees were affected by the evacuation. The broadcaster's operations continued uninterrupted despite the incident.
The fire likely originated from Welding activities midday in a supply shaft, according to the fire department spokesperson. The blaze was reported to the emergency services by a triggered fire alarm system. Around two hours later, the fire department concluded its services, and the extent of the damage was still undetermined.
Later in the day, the employees were cleared to return to the building after the fire department had completed its ventilation efforts. The extensive coverage of the fire in the WDR building led to national headlines, yet the broadcaster continued its broadcasting operations without disruption.
Enrichment Insights:
For more specifics on the estimated damage and time spent on fire extinguishing activities, you would need to look into additional news articles or official reports related to the WDR archive building fire incident. The existing sources primarily focused on cultural events, artistic projects, and film festivals, missing mentions of this particular incident.
