Fire broke out in renovated Warsaw BGK headquarters Tuesday, evacuating 250 construction workers.
Incident Details
On Tuesday, February 10, a fire broke out in the renovated building of the Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego in Śródmieście – at the intersection of Aleje Jerozolimskie and Nowy Świat. Approximately 200 people were evacuated from the building, and the police report that no one was injured.
A fire report was received at 14:18. The evacuated people are employees carrying out renovation work in the object. From preliminary information, it is a fire in a renovated building. Approximately 250 people were evacuated, there are no injured persons.
The fire took place in the basement of the historic BGK headquarters, which is undergoing comprehensive modernization. During the works, smoke appeared most likely as a result of a short circuit in the electrical installation. All construction workers left the endangered place on their own. During the firefighting operation, two lanes of Aleje Jerozolimskie towards the Vistula were blocked, which caused very large difficulties in the area of the Charles de Gaulle roundabout.
Official Response
“The situation is under control. All employees who were working on the construction site have safely left the building. We have no information about injured persons. The appropriate services appeared on the scene immediately. The general contractor of the construction works was asked to explain the incident and prepare a report on the causes of the incident” – emphasizes Paweł Żebrowski, press spokesman for BGK.
It is noted that the BGK headquarters is currently being renovated and bank employees are performing their duties elsewhere. “Only construction workers work in the historic headquarters” – adds.
Building Information
The building itself is one of the recognizable examples of interwar modernism in central Warsaw. It was built in 1928-1931 according to the design of Rudolf Świerczyński, and after World War II it was expanded; the object is located at Aleje Jerozolimskie 7, in the area of the Charles de Gaulle roundabout.
In reports regarding modernization, it was also emphasized that the works must take into account conservation requirements, and the technical condition of the building after years of operation turned out to be more complex than assumed.
