German fire brigade keeps fire away at villages

treuenbrietzen - The fire brigade succeeded on Friday to protect the three villages threatened by forest fires in the German state of Brandenburg against the flames. About five hundred residents of the villages of Frohnsdorf, Klausdorf and Tiefenbrunnen had to leave their homes on Thursday evening because of the fire about 50 kilometers south of Berlin.

The fire is still raging in an area of ​​about 400 hectares. The extinguishing activities are made more difficult because there is a lot of ammunition in the ground in the area. ' We can not access it in some places, 'said a fire department spokesman.

The fire began on Thursday afternoon due to unknown causes and spread rapidly, partly due to the drought that also prevails in East Germany. 'We have already had a number of major forest fires in the region, but we have not yet experienced a fire of this size and as it rages between the villages. '', said Michael Handsome, mayor of the nearby town of Treuenbrietzen. Thirty people stay in an emergency shelter in the town hall. Most of the evacuated villagers stay with friends and acquaintances.