The Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (CGDIS) announced on Saturday that the fire at the Junglinster town hall had been extinguished.
The blaze, which ignited in the early hours of Friday morning, was finally brought under control 36 hours later. At 1pm on Saturday afternoon, the CGDIS confirmed the cessation of all firefighting operations at the site.
According to official reports, despite the efforts of 90 firefighters to stabilise the situation on Friday evening, the fire persisted, causing sections of the building to collapse. This structural damage complicated the extinguishing efforts, particularly within the municipality's archive, where some fire sources remained inaccessible.
Throughout Friday night, a team of 20 individuals remained on site to prevent any potential flare-ups. On Saturday morning, an excavator was employed to clear debris and address lingering hot spots, as reported by the CGDIS.
The comprehensive operation, involving a total of 130 volunteer and professional firefighters, received additional support from specialised units such as the Operational Technology Support Group and the Logistic Support Centre.
"A very dark day for our municipality"
Mayor Ben Ries, speaking to RTL, confirmed that the fire had caused extensive damage to the town hall. There were no reported injuries. The municipality described the incident as a "very dark day" in a Facebook post on Friday evening. The municipality thanked the CGDIS and municipal staff for their diligent efforts to salvage documents, "even though the fire is still raging."
Accompanying the post are images illustrating the magnitude of the destruction, alongside several boxes of that were saved from the flames. Plans for the future operation of municipal services will be communicated via the municipality's website and Facebook page once arrangements are finalised.
Roof truss removed from town hall, special hotline set up for residents
The building, housing both administrative offices and crucial archives, has suffered severe damage. The incident resulted in the collapse of the roof onto the archives.
By 7.30am on Friday, the situation remained critical, emphasising the urgency to dismantle the damaged areas promptly to gain direct access to the archives. The municipality, which recently underwent an expansion in May, clarified that the affected section is not part of the new extension. Unfortunately, the old farmhouse and the adjoining part are compromised and deemed unusable.
Municipal services will be temporarily suspended over the coming days, with attempts to reinstate the most important services by Tuesday. In the meantime, Junglinster residents can contact the following number in case of emergencies: 78 72 72 - 1000
Among the most heavily impacted areas are the archives. Although some documents had previously undergone digitisation efforts and a handful were rescued from an adjacent building overnight, initial assessments suggest that salvaging additional materials from the archives is unlikely.
In response to the crisis, a team from the Luxembourg National Archives arrived on site Friday afternoon to strategise potential methods for salvaging select documents from the ravaged archives.
Firefighters from Junglinster, Mersch, Hesperange, Lenningen, Consdorf, Manternach, Wormeldange, Walferdange, Steinsel, Kehlen, Roeser, Bettembourg, Remich, and Luxembourg City were on site.
Nothing is yet known about the cause of the fire, emphasised Mayor Ries.
