Toxic cloud of smoke

Diehl armaments company site is on fire

(Bild: Christoph Soeder/dpa)

A major fire at a metal technology company in Berlin caused a huge cloud of smoke to form over the west of the capital on Friday. The fire department deployed to the scene and warned of possible health risks. At least one school was closed. 

Copper cyanide and sulphuric acid had been stored in the hall and hydrogen cyanide may have formed during the fire, said a fire department spokesman.

It wasa metal technology company
However, according to the fire department, hazardous substances were only detected in the air in the immediate vicinity of the fire site - not in the cloud of smoke that drifted towards the city center.

The company Diehl Metall, to which the plant belongs, also stated in response to an inquiry that, according to their findings, no hazardous substances had been measured. The chemicals in question were only present in small quantities at the plant, said spokesman Michael Nitz.

According to him, it is an electroplating company that manufactures car parts, among other things. The Diehl Group is a large arms manufacturer that also supplies weapons to Ukraine.

This triggered speculation in the media and social networks. However, Nitz said that no armaments had been produced at the Berlin plant. The police had not yet determined the cause of the fire. According to the fire department, there were no injuries.