Fire devil at Peine: hay bales burn and cause chaos on A2!

Fire devil at Peine: hay bales burn and cause chaos on A2!

A spectacular fire on June 30, 2025 causes excitement on the A2 motorway at Peine. Around 40 hay bales caught fire and created dense swaths of smoke, which significantly impaired the visual view of the drivers. First, it was reported that the fire broke out directly on the road, but this was later informed as a misunderstanding. The fire was in the immediate vicinity of the highway, which did not make the extinguishing work easier.

The fire brigade fought with the flames and used a wheel loader to pull the tightly pressed hay bales apart and extinguish them individually. A total of around 50 firefighters were on duty to cope with the situation. The cause of the fire is currently still unclear, the police team will continue to determine.

full closure on the A2

But not only the Heufeld was the scene of drama: another event on the A2 required a full closure of the highway. On January 28, 2025, a truck driver noticed tire damage and then stopped on the hard shoulder. Regrettably, the vehicle's wheel arch, which led to the fire and the loaded 24 tons of wood and plastic quickly spread to the truck and the loaded. The fire brigade was forced to unload the trailer to extinguish the flames.

The extinguishing work dragged on into the evening. The fire was only completely extinguished around 9:00 p.m. The fire brigade's helicopters, who observed the traffic, reported kilometers of traffic jams. In order to redirect the traffic, the highway at the Watenbüttel junction was closed and remained completely closed until around 8:15 a.m. the next morning. Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the estimated damage amounts to a six -figure amount, and parts of the highway are now in need of renovation.

traffic safety in focus

The incidents on the A2 in Peine put a light on the need for measures to improve traffic safety. According to the information from Destatis , the road traffic accident statistics are continuously updated in order to gain comprehensive and reliable data on traffic safety. These statistics serve to recognize both legislation as well as traffic education and help, structures and factors that lead to accidents.

As the events on the A2 have shown, the continuous monitoring and improvement for the safety of all road users remains essential.