"Modestia cum Libertate" Historic building in Zurich's old town burns down - crime cannot be ruled out

A fire breaks out in Zurich's old town in the middle of the night. Suddenly the building is on fire. The operation continues.

A building in Zurich's old town has caught fire. The operation is still ongoing, wrote Schutz und Rettung Zürich shortly before 3.30 a.m. on X. The authorities announced at 5.40 a.m. that there were no injuries. However, the fire is now under control and largely extinguished. The fire department is still being called out and the operation is continuing.

The alarm was received by the operations control center shortly after 1 a.m. The fire department was on site shortly afterwards. According to a statement, an attack on the next part of the building was prevented at the last minute.

Most of the residents of the surrounding buildings were able to get themselves to safety or were evacuated by the police and then treated by the ambulance service, it added.

The building in question is the "Modestia cum Libertate", said a spokesperson for Zurich Protection and Rescue at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency. The building of what the organization describes as "eight regular Masonic lodges in the city on the Limmat" is located at Lindenhof, a popular vantage point in Zurich with a view of the Limmat.

Danger of collapse

The firefighting operation had to be suspended from the inside due to the risk of collapse. The fire is now under control and largely extinguished, according to the authorities. The fire load in the building was very high and the operation was "still complex".

Due to the "fire watch and extensive post-extinguishing and clean-up work", the operation will probably continue throughout Monday.

Crime cannot be ruled out

It is not yet possible to say what caused the fire. It also remains unclear where exactly the fire broke out, according to a spokesperson from Zurich Protection and Rescue.

The extent of the damage is "considerable" and no concrete figures on the amount of damage are yet available. According to information from Protection and Rescue, several works of art were hanging on the first floor, all of which presumably fell victim to the flames.

Zurich freemasons told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper that they suspected arson and reported a possible break-in to the building.

"The investigations are going in all directions, but a crime cannot be ruled out," said a spokesperson for the Zurich city police when asked by Keystone-SDA. The police promised a media release in the afternoon.