Bothenheilingen (dpa/th) – According to the police, a “chain of unfortunate circumstances” was the cause of the major fire in Bothenheiligen in the Unstrut-Hainich district. The fire investigators determined this in cooperation with experts, said a police spokeswoman on Tuesday. 15 people lost their homes in the major fire. The damage caused was estimated at several million euros.
According to the experts, the accident happened like this: First, the chimney of a joinery in a four-sided courtyard in the center caught fire. Overpressure developed due to the heat. When an employee in the joinery opened the flap of an oven, there was a deflagration in an extraction system. This explosion quickly led to the fire.
As previously suspected, the fire then spread to a neighboring property. A barn and an apartment building also went up in flames due to the intense heat and flying sparks. What happened was facilitated by the fact that a gas bottle stored on the property exploded. A second gas bottle could be recovered and cooled before it could be transported away.
During the fire in the 450-strong community on Monday last week, the four-sided courtyard burned down to the foundations. In addition to the carpentry shop, there was a residential building, a dance hall and several rental apartments in the building ensemble.