Zlín demolishes fire-gutted Baťa tower — anniversary banner of Tomáš Baťa to go down with it

Demolition continues in the Czech city of Zlín on the burned-out eleven-storey building No. 34, part of the former Baťa factory complex — the largest building in the city, measuring 78 by 72 metres. A huge banner bearing a portrait of company founder Tomáš Baťa, put up to mark his 150th birth anniversary, will not be saved separately by the owner but will instead be left under the rubble along with the rest of the construction debris.

Marcel Šmíd, a representative of Cream Group, the building's owner, told the ČTK news agency that the original plan had been to preserve the banner intact and donate it to some foundation. That idea was later dropped: the banner's fixings were anchored solidly every metre, meaning it was impossible to simply cut the cable and take it down.

"We decided it wasn't worth spending half a day figuring out how to carefully cut away the remaining part of the banner — let the demolition proceed using the standard, safe method," Šmíd explained. He added that once the work is finished, crews will try to retrieve the banner from beneath the rubble, though its condition remains unknown — the fabric had already been damaged by the fire.

What happened to the building

The fire in building No. 34, part of the former Baťa factory town, broke out on 9 July. The northern and western sections of the structure collapsed that same day, leaving only the oldest part — the western wall, built in 1949 — still standing. Firefighters battled the blaze for nearly two weeks, declaring it fully extinguished on 22 July, and the building was formally handed over to Cream Group on 27 July.

Even before that, the local building authority had ordered the immediate demolition of the unsafe structure. Under the authorities' ruling, the owner is required to clear the entire site, including the debris, by 15 December, with a six-week deadline set for dismantling the parts deemed most hazardous to life and health.

Demolition progress

The demolition began last Friday, and by Saturday another section of the building had already collapsed. Work is proceeding from the southern side toward the railway station. According to the demolition contractor, Build Synergy, the job is expected to take 25 working days, with most of the work carried out by a hundred-tonne excavator fitted with hydraulic shears, dismantling the ruined building from the top down.

So far, the demolition crew has about a fifth of the surviving frame left to level. Once the building is fully taken down, an estimated 140,000 tonnes of construction debris will remain to be sorted and hauled away.

Cause of the fire still undetermined

The fire is believed to have started on the ninth floor, in a shoe warehouse leased by the company Vasky, before spreading to other floors and the roof. No one was injured in the blaze. Forensic experts, working alongside fire service investigators, are now trying to determine the cause; police say the investigation could take several months. The extent of the damage has not yet been established.

Police are investigating the incident on suspicion of negligently causing general danger — an offence that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison if guilt is established.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz