The central offices of the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) in Budapest’s 6th district can be ruled a total loss after the fire that engulfed the roof of the four-storey building where they were located, the party’s deputy leader said. The 400sqm roof structure of the building on the Teréz Ring Road caught fire on Saturday afternoon and around 40 firefighters with ten vehicles were needed to extinguish the fire. Addressing a press conference in front of the building, Csaba Molnár said some of DK’s members had been allowed to inspect the damage to their offices. He said all of the party’s belongings stored in the offices have been destroyed either by the flames or the firewater. Molnár said the building had caught fire in two separate locations: on the ground floor and on the fifth floor. The fire department has yet to determine whether the two fires were related, he added.
He said databases and personal details of sympathisers handled by the party were safe, because they were not stored on the servers located in the building. DK’s bookkeeping and official documents, however, were destroyed in the fire, he added. Molnár said his party’s offices also contained several contemporary artworks, most of which were also destroyed in the fire. The signature collection sheets containing signatures in support of the direct mayoral election system for Budapest and joining the European prosecutor’s office were destroyed as well, he said.
He expressed his party’s gratitude to the opposition parties that have offered to share their offices with DK. However, he said the party could not accept the offers because it would be impossible to fit everyone in. More than 30 people worked in DK’s central office, Molnár said, adding that they will now be working either from the parliamentary office building or from home until DK finds new office space it can rent.