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An empty supermarket in Mülheim was destroyed by a major fire on Monday.
A fire department spokesman said the 150 by 100 meter building had been in flames for hours.
The roof collapsed.
Up to 350 firefighters from surrounding cities were also on duty.
In the morning they had largely brought the flames under control, the spokesman said.
The subsequent extinguishing work would probably take another one and a half to two days.
“It's a Herculean task.” According to the information, nobody was injured.
The cause of the fire was not initially determined.
The fire brigade was able to prevent the flames from spreading to a gas station that is right next to the hall.
"That was our main focus," said the spokesman.
The gas station was "massively cooled" so that the large amounts of fuel would not ignite.
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Because of the icy temperatures, the emergency services had to take turns regularly.
"All of them are quickly frozen by the freezing water," said the spokesman.
Icicles would have formed on the helmets.
Experts from the State Environment Agency and the fire service carried out pollutant measurements.
Residents should keep windows and doors closed.
Because of the heavy smoke, the warning app Nina was triggered.
The fire broke out shortly after midnight.