Major fire in Dresden: Former state operetta completely burned out!

Major fire in Dresden: Former state operetta completely burned out!

In Dresden-Leuben, the former home of the State Operetta burned down completely in the night from Friday to Saturday. Loud ZVW The fire brigade's operation lasted around 18 hours and ended on Saturday morning at 5:30 a.m. with the “fire out” signal.

Around 150 firefighters were deployed and fought the flames, which were initially reported around 7:37 p.m. when the roof structure was already ablaze. The emergency services received support from the Technical Relief Agency and a drone squadron from the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund, which contributed to fighting the fire with thermal imaging.

Damage and evacuations

The cause of the fire is still unclear. A police expert is already on site to begin the investigation and assess the damage. The rear part of the building in which the auditorium was located has collapsed, which is why both this and the main building are not allowed to be entered due to the risk of collapse. The former location of the state operetta has been empty since December 2016 and was recently the target of vandalism, as a city spokesman reported.

The population in the area was asked to keep windows and doors closed and even to turn off the ventilation systems. Residents within a radius of one kilometer felt severely disturbed by the dense clouds of smoke that had appeared. In addition, due to the danger, two adjacent residential buildings had to be evacuated as a precaution, while Pirnaer Landstrasse was completely closed until Saturday afternoon.

Problem caused by onlookers

Another problem arose during the operation due to onlookers and civilian drones, which hindered the emergency services. Two drones were identified and a drone pilot was already known. The fire department criticized the onlookers, whose behavior made the operation more difficult, while one firefighter had to be treated on an outpatient basis for circulatory problems.

The State Operetta in Dresden can look back on a tradition of over 240 years, which makes the loss of the apparently dilapidated building all the more tragic. The institution had been based in Leuben since 1947 before the ensemble moved to the former Mitte power plant in the city center in December 2016. The fire is also the second major fire in Dresden that day, as another large fire was reported hours earlier on the site of the Old Leipzig Train Station daily news reported.