The damage from the fire in the historic building of the National Theatre is preliminarily estimated at 10 million CZK

Prague - The Tuesday fire in the historic building of the National Theatre in Prague caused preliminary damage of ten million crowns. CTK was informed today by fire department spokesperson Vojtěch Sosna, which was confirmed by the theatre's spokesperson Tomáš Staněk. The cause of the fire is still being investigated, Sosna added. According to the police, the fire likely started in a riser, where construction waste caught fire. Detectives are investigating whether it was a criminal act of negligence. According to earlier information, the fire broke out in the technical background of the building and spread through a shaft that carries water or heat from the basement to the upper floors.

"A very rough estimate of the damage at this point is ten million crowns, but it may change," Staněk stated. The National Theatre has been monitoring the situation with its own fire patrols overnight, reinstated the electronic fire protection system, and started cleaning up. The theatre has also contacted the insurance company. According to Staněk, the damage will be claimed in full.

"We are currently assessing the extent of the damages and checking the functionality of the technical infrastructure. During the morning, we will consult repairs with specialized companies," Staněk noted. According to him, theatre staff are ventilating both the audience and operational spaces. "We can manage some of it internally through our own maintenance. Some work will have to be contracted to suppliers," he added.

The theatre anticipates that the Thursday premiere of the original ballet Scheherazade will take place, the spokesperson stated. "We plan to resume ballet rehearsals," he added.

In connection with the theatre fire, Prague detectives have initiated criminal proceedings, Czech Television (ČT) reported today. "We are investigating whether a crime of a negligent nature was committed," said Prague police spokesperson Jan Daněk to CTK later. The police stated on X that the fire likely started in a riser where construction waste was burning.

Thick smoke began to pour from the historic building around 3:00 PM on Tuesday. Firefighters declared a second alarm. They also intervened from ladders. About a hundred employees left the theatre before the arrival of the firefighting units. One person inhaled smoke, but hospitalization was not necessary. According to theatre director Jan Burian, the fire did not affect the auditorium or stage, and the prompt response of firefighters saved incalculable values.

"Initially, when I saw the headline, I was a bit scared that we would have to fundraise for a new National Theatre. But I was pleased that our fire department operates very well and that the fire did not spread," President Petr Pavel told reporters today in Australia. "Even though I saw that the damage was preliminarily estimated at some ten million, the National Theatre as such did not suffer and will be functional again shortly. Respect to our units dealing with risky situations," he added.

Discussions with the company that will repair the damages will begin today, Burian said on ČT. He reiterated that no paintings or the foyer of the building were damaged in the fire, and the theatre began cleaning up overnight. "Nothing suggests that the fire was caused intentionally or by construction work, as nothing of the sort was happening there," the theatre director stated.

Dozens of firefighters responded to the fire. Smoke from the fire in the technical background of the building spread, and locating the source of the fire was very challenging for the firefighters, incident commander Jan Kulhánek mentioned on Tuesday to ČT. Director Burian spoke of the fire spreading through the shaft from the basement. The firefighters' operations concluded on Tuesday around 6:30 PM with the handover of the building to the management of the National Theatre, Staněk reported today. The operation affected traffic around the theatre. Police vehicles redirected cars, and tram services were also halted for several minutes.

According to Staněk, the theatre's management will analyze the entire course of the fire and evaluate whether everything functioned as it should. Fire drills are held regularly at the ND at various levels - from training preventive fire patrols or auditorium staff to large-scale drills in cooperation with the fire department. "The last drill we had with the firefighters was in the summer of 2021, including practicing the evacuation of the audience and fighting fires at great heights. We also measured the response time of the unit. We practiced our staff's response to other dangers as well," he stated.

The first building of the National Theatre on the same site as today's "Golden Chapel" burned down in August 1881, even before its completion. It reportedly ignited due to negligence during finishing work. However, the intention to build a Czech national theatre stage was not destroyed by the disaster, as money began to be raised again shortly after the fire, and after two and a quarter years, the restored theatre was ceremonially opened.