Toxic cloud

A STATE of ‘extreme danger’ was declared on Sunday, April 9, in the German city of Ham‐burg. The alert was the result of two warehouses initially catching fire in Billstrasse at around 4.40am, in the Rothenburgsort district. This subsequently produced clouds of thick black smoke which poured up into the sky, as reported by a news source.

In an official warning on Sunday morning, the fire and the smoke development were classified as ‘extreme danger’. The population could be affected “by smoke gases and chemical components in the air we breathe,” the au‐thorities warned.

Confirming the situation, a spokesman for Hamburg Fire Brigade said: “The centre of Hamburg is completely dark.” The burning facilities were lo‐ cated along the banks of the River Elbe, east of the city cen‐tre.

Firefighters did not provide information on the contents of the warehouses. However, other sources suggested the warehouses were discharging hydrogen sulphide into the at‐mosphere. Firefighting teams were said to be unable to combat the flames without the use of breathing appara‐tus.

Six fire appliances from the professional fire brigade, sev‐eral volunteer fire brigades, the Technical Relief Agency and the police took part in fighting the fire. According to initial reports, no one was in‐jured.