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BERLIN — Firefighters brought a large fire in the roof of the famed home of the Berlin Philharmonic under control on Tuesday, but the full extent of damage to the building remained unclear.
The Berlin Fire Department reported no injuries, and the musicians’ irreplaceable instruments were rescued from the building, the Philharmonie. Nevertheless, the roof, made of metal, was in shambles after firefighters tore through it to get at the flames in the structure underneath, and significant water damage to the building, which is one of the world’s great concert halls, remained a concern.
Pamela Rosenberg, administrative director of the Philharmonic, said, however, that she held out hope that performances might even resume as scheduled on Thursday.
“I am very relieved, but I don’t want to allow myself to become euphoric too soon,” said Ms. Rosenberg, standing in the main concert hall as firefighters unfurled enormous sheets of plastic to catch drops of water falling from the ceiling onto the upper seats.
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Officials said they believed that a team of welders working on the roof had accidentally started the fire, but the cause remained under investigation. The fire commander at the scene said that more than 17,000 square feet of the roof was damaged, from the fire and the rescue efforts.
The entrance to the Philharmonie. 
At least 170 firefighters in Berlin, Germany battled a fire on Tuesday at the Berliner Philharmonie, the building that is home to the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra.

The fire broke out around 2:00 p.m. local time, while the orchestra was rehearsing, but all the members of the audience and orchestra made it out of the building without injury. Much of the instruments were also saved before the fire grew out of control.


Firefighters had to take off large portions of the metal roof in order to battle the blaze which took almost five hours to bring under control and burned for almost 12. It is believed that welding on the roof may have caused the fire to start, but an investigation is ongoing. 

Officials have yet to determine the total extent of the damage, but do say that nearly 17,000 square feet of the roof is burned.

The building, designed by Hans Scharoun,  was built in 1963 to replace the previous concert hall which was destroyed in 1944 during World War II. The orchestra was first formed by 54 individuals in 1882.

All future concerts that have been scheduled to take place at the Philharmonie are canceled until further notice.