http://www.euractiv.com/en/future-eu/questions-asked-berlaymont-blaze/article-182476Questions asked after Berlaymont blaze[fr][de]
Published: Tuesday 19 May 2009
Doubts as to the quality of the pharaonic renovation works at the European Commission's emblematic Berlaymont building are being raised as officials struggle to reopen the EU headquarters following a fire which broke out yesterday (18 May).
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An internal email calls for all staff at Berlaymont to work from home "where possible".
All Berlaymont staff have received "special leave" until 14:30 on Tuesday. For all other Commission staff, the building will remain inaccessible for an unspecified period.
Commission President José Manuel Barroso and other commissioners have moved to other EU buildings to ensure that work continues uninterrupted, an EU spokesman said.
The star-shaped Berlaymont, dubbed 'Berlaymonster' by pundits, is a 1960s architectural colossus. The asbestos-stricken building was closed in 1991 before reopening in 2004 after expensive renovation works.
The decision to refurbish the Berlaymont instead of replacing it was taken with the aim of preserving the building, which had become a symbol of the EU project.
Fire department spokesperson Francis Boileau admitted that the firemen had experienced difficulties at first before eventually getting the fire under control four hours after it had broken out.
It appears to have taken some time for firemen to identify the precise location of the blaze: reportedly a technical installation under the roof of the 13th floor. Locked security doors had also held up the firemen's efforts, it was reported.
According to some reports, the fire started in the basement archives, before heat and gases raced upwards through a wire shaft to the executive floors.
Witnesses told EurActiv that the alarm had sounded some 20 minutes after staff had already smelt the fire (EurActiv 18/05/09).
It was assumed that the Berlaymont had benefited from its state-of-the-art renovation, but now journalists and the public are likely to question the quality of the works. The fact that the press centre, where the Commission's midday briefing takes place, will remain closed is not expected to make their work any easier.
