Four days after a fire broke out in Berlin's Grunewald, the situation remains tense.

On Monday morning, the emergency services decided that the A115 motorway (Avus) would remain closed for the time being.

The reason for this is the still dangerous situation on the police blast site not far from the highway, the fire brigade said.

It's true that the area where tons of old grenades, ammunition and confiscated fireworks are stored in buildings hasn't burned for a while.

In some areas, however, there were still extremely hot temperatures, explained fire department spokesman Thomas Kirstein.

Firefighting tanks and robots in action

The area is therefore still “the focus of operations par excellence”.

The emergency services tried to continue cooling there on Monday.

Among other things, a fire fighting vehicle and remote-controlled firefighting robots would be used because entering the area is life-threatening for firefighters.

"With the cooling, we hope to get a good forecast that the blocking circuit can be reduced at some point during the day," says Kirstein.

Then the Avus, which has been closed since the fire broke out on Thursday night, can be released again.

"But, let me be clear, we're going to be careful.

The danger that still exists from the ammunition and ordnance should not be underestimated.” Patience is therefore required.

If an explosive device explodes, parts of it could injure emergency services or be thrown onto the freeway and then affect motorists.

According to Kirstein, small ground fires continue to blaze in some places in the forest around the blast site.

"They don't necessarily give us a headache, but they have to be worked on during the course of the day.

That's the big goal, that we'll move closer to the blasting site."

If further cooling is successful during the course of the day, a demolition expert will get a picture of the situation, says Kirstein.

He will then make a risk assessment.

Then the blocking circle can be reduced if necessary.

"That's important for Avus and also for us as the Berlin fire brigade, so that we can start fighting the fire in the immediate vicinity."

Cause still unknown

Around 250 emergency services were on site on Monday.

These included members of the Berlin professional fire brigade and voluntary fire services, the police and federal police, the Red Cross and the forest administration.

According to previous knowledge, the fire broke out on Thursday night at the blast site, the cause is not yet known.

There were explosions because of the ammunition and ordnance stored there.

The railway line, which runs parallel to the motorway but at a slightly greater distance from the forest fire, was also initially closed.

Trains have been running here again since Saturday.

In view of the events, there is debate as to whether the explosive site, which has existed since 1950, is in the right place.

In the short term, Brandenburg will help out with the disposal of explosive ordnance, said Berlin's Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) on Sunday evening in the RBB "Abendschau".

When discussing long-term cooperation between the two countries in the disposal of explosive ordnance, Spranger said that after the current operation, the cause would first be clarified.

"I don't want to drive a 250-kilogram bomb on any highway for over 1.5 hours," she added.

70 years ago they thought something when choosing the location for the blasting site.

Since this is not close to residential areas, the safety of Berliners and the security forces can be guaranteed.