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Two Berlin Homeless Outreach Buses Disabled in Suspected Arson Attack

State criminal police opened an arson investigation after the blaze, prompting a donation drive to restore service.

Overview

  • A witness reported an unknown person near the parked Kältebus vehicles on Seydlitzstraße in Moabit around 3:15 a.m., shortly before one bus caught fire and a second was damaged.
  • Firefighters extinguished the blaze and reported no injuries, with one bus burning out in the front section and the neighboring vehicle sustaining heat damage.
  • The Landeskriminalamt’s fire commission is investigating on suspicion of arson, and no arrests have been announced.
  • Berliner Stadtmission says two of its three donation-funded buses are currently unusable, and the nonprofit Gebewo has supplied a temporary VW bus with a wheelchair ramp to help keep limited service running.
  • The charity is urgently seeking donations to replace and repair vehicles, estimating roughly €50,000 in damage to the specialized interiors; last winter its buses assisted about 2,100 people.