Karl’s Erdbeerhof: Fire breaks out at famous German strawberry park

Emergency services have stifled a fire that broke out on Tuesday, June 6 at Karl’s Erdbeerhof in Brandenburg, injuring 10 people and damaging 400 square metres of the well-known theme park and strawberry farm.

10 injured at Karl’s Erdbeerhof fire in Brandenburg

10 people have suffered from smoke inhalation and circulation problems after a fire broke out at the Karl’s Erdbeerhof theme park and strawberry farm “Karl’s Erlebnishof” in Elstal, Brandenburg.

German police have reported that the fire initially broke out in a workshop at the park before spreading to a slide, a sales booth and a stable. Luckily, emergency services managed to evacuate the animals kept in the Hof stable and none were injured.

The fire spread across a 400 square metre area and was about 10 metres wide and 40 metres long. Around 100 firefighters and rescue workers were called to the scene from surrounding municipalities to clear the park, close nearby roads and evacuate around 200 visitors.

Main Erdbeerhof building survived intact

Firefighters believe that considering the number of visitors and where the fire broke out that it is fortunate the damages and injuries were not more extreme. While two buildings were burnt to the ground, the theme park’s main building remained intact. 

Karl’s Erdbeerhof is well-known in Brandenburg and surrounding areas for selling produce from its recognisable strawberry-shaped huts throughout the summer. The company was founded by Karl Dahl in 1921 and has further farms and parks in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The business is run by Karl’s son Robert and is worth around 53 million euros.

Thumb image credit: Bjoern Wylezich / Shutterstock.com