Between Bornheim and Brühl Flames spread from field to autobahn
BORNHEIM · A fire broke out on Friday afternoon on a field next to the railway line between Bornheim and Brühl. The autobahn 553 and the railway line had to be closed down temporarily.
On Friday afternoon, the fire department dispatched a large contingency of firefighters to Bornheim and Brühl. On a field next to the railway line between Sechtem and Brühl, a combine harvester was on fire and the field had caught fire in several places. The embankment along the railway line was also affected by the fire. Train traffic was completely stopped there and autobahn 553 was closed.
As Markus Brachschoss of the Brühl fire department reported at the scene, the firefighters had to prevent the fire from spreading from the field to the railway line and the autobahn. The railway line and the autobahn were closed to all traffic straight away. The embankment along the A553 burned for a length of around 200 meters. Some of the flames also spread to the median.
"The local farmers helped us in the emergency situation by using tractors and a plough to furrow a little further around the burning combine so that we could protect the adjacent field," Brachschoss said. The burnt plants were also plowed into the field immediately by the farmers.
After the fire had been brought under control, rail traffic was reopened at around 5:30 p.m., as was a lane on the autobahn. Fire-fighting work was still underway in the earl evening to prevent the fire from breaking out again. In addition to the Brühl fire department, the Bornheim and Wesseling fire brigades were also deployed.
National Express had announced that they tried to set up a substitute bus service between Bornheim and Brühl. However, this was not successful.
(Orig. text: Sebastian Fink, Translation: ck)
