According to the police report, they received “a message about a falling house wall” at 4:50 a.m. A short time later, a patrol drove to Unterer Markt street.
More than 50 helpers from the fire brigade and technical rescue organization (THW) as well as the police and rescue services were on duty after the wall collapsed.
The fire department provided the necessary barriers, THW from Amberg, Sulzbach and Kelheim supported the opening of the wall with wooden beams and metal beams all morning. Throughout the day, a special measuring device measures with millimeter precision if further displacement of the wall must be feared at the point of collapse. Despite these measures, Amberg THW spokesman Christian Birner described the affected building as “in danger of collapsing” in his lunchtime interview.
Very rare event
A wall collapse like this one in Auerbach is a “very rare event,” the spokesman explained to the television cameras and microphones. According to Regn, the head of the building yard, there are only planned safety works on the Alte Münze and on Degelsdorfer Straße in Auerbach – but never an unplanned collapse of the wall.
The collapse of the wall also had radical consequences for the neighbor Sinan Gök, although he is not a direct resident but lives a little further down the street. “He is not allowed to take his car out of the garage and drive to work,” said his mother Selma Gök. He is one of the co-owners of the neighboring house and also tried to return to the neighboring building at number 15 around noon.
But he had to be patient before the person in charge of THW gave away.
Insurance agent and ground floor tenant Mike Matthis found “a note” from the police on his office door telling him he was not allowed in the building. Which gave him an unplanned day off “due to an official order” due to the ban on entry.
Businesswoman Susanne Wagner-Dörrzapf from the store in Unteren Markt did not hesitate and gave fresh coffee to all the helpers. “It will certainly be quieter for us today, but that is force majeure.” Possible sales loss due to the blocked market could certainly be overcome, he said. His parents live above the shop. They would not notice the collapse of the wall across the street.
The house, which was in danger of collapsing, was sold only a few weeks ago by the previous owner, Conny Wittmann.