Czech fire destroys 70,000 pairs of shoes in Zlin

A fire at a warehouse on the former Bata factory premises in Zlin, Czech Republic, destroyed 70,000 pairs of shoes on Thursday, the Vasky company said.

The fire broke out before 0630 GMT on the ninth floor of an 11-storey building in the southeastern city. The Czech fire brigade said nobody was injured, but the blaze was still out of control by 1600 GMT and the building was continuing to collapse.

Vasky founder Vaclav Stanek said the company had lost almost everything and estimated the destroyed shoes and clothing at about $7 million.

The fire brigade said the fire had hit three storeys and was unlikely to be extinguished before the building collapsed or had to be demolished.

Stanek founded Vasky in 2016 to continue Zlin’s shoe-making tradition, which began with Tomas Bata’s factory in 1894. Stanek said Vasky would keep making shoes despite the loss.