Overview
- The blaze began Friday evening when about 50 metal storage cages holding old batteries, mobile phones and other electronic scrap caught fire and flames spread to an adjacent industrial hall.
- Fire crews fought the fire for roughly ten hours and at peak more than 100 emergency personnel from Bergheim and nearby departments were deployed.
- The Technisches Hilfswerk used specialised vehicles to remove burned Gitterboxen so crews could carry out safe secondary extinguishing and cleanup.
- The rear of the neighbouring hall was heavily damaged and partially collapsed but firefighters stopped the flames from destroying the entire building.
- Officials briefly closed the A61 and issued a NINA warning asking residents to keep windows and doors closed, though on-site air measurements have not shown hazardous levels and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.