High-rise fire in Zlin: Factory building from the Bata era partially collapses

The sports shoe brand Vasky was particularly affected, as its owner used parts of the high-rise as a warehouse. The owner estimates the property damage to the stored goods at the equivalent of six to seven and a half million euros, as CTK reported citing him. It was initially unclear whether historical machines or archival materials from the former Svit works had also been housed in the building.

Extent of the damage

According to initial findings, no one was injured. After the decline of Svit production in the 1990s, the building had been partly leased to private users and smaller companies. The cause of the fire has not yet been conclusively determined; police fire investigators began their work the day after the blaze.

The Czech interior minister planned to travel to Zlin on Friday to get an overview of the situation. Representatives of the city administration also announced that the safety of comparable old buildings from the city's industrial history would be reviewed.

Consequences for Vasky and the city

The case evokes memories of earlier fires at industrial heritage sites in Eastern Europe. High-rise number 34 was regarded by heritage conservators as one of the last largely original-preserved high-bay warehouses of post-war modernism in the Czech Republic.

The Vasky brand announced that it would seek to compensate for the stored inventory through other warehouses. When production at the main site can resume in full was initially unclear. Insurance matters between the brand and the owner of the building are, according to CTK, also only at the beginning.

The city of Zlin is meanwhile examining whether further parts of the structure need to be carefully dismantled. There continued to be a danger of collapse, according to the city hall. The adjoining stretch of road remained closed the day after the fire.