Doors also blown out in biggest lecture hall: Dean of FSS, Jakub Končelík, assesses the damage

The shockwave resulting from the gas explosion in Divadelní street on Monday 29 April damaged the premises of the CU Faculty of Social Sciences (known as the Hollar building) on Smetanovo nábřeží. “The building is still being guarded by the police, who are only letting us inside with police accompaniment. Repairs can only start when the police leave. We don’t yet know when that will be,” said PhDr. Jakub Končelík, Dean of the CU Faculty of Social Sciences, in an interview with student magazine iForum.

Damage to the Hollar building

How do things look at the Hollar building a day after the explosion?

The area is still being guarded by the police. Access to the building is possible with police accompaniment only. They only let us inside to take photos of damage and pick up personal items of students and employees. We are not yet able to carry out any repairs as we do not have free access to the building.

When will students and employees be able to pick up their personal items left in the building following yesterday’s explosion?

We have been inventorying and photographing all personal items of students and employees since morning. They can be picked up in Jinonice in the afternoon. We were aided in this by students from the Oživme Hollar initiative, about which I am very pleased. Even yesterday we received considerable assistance from the Rector, who immediately contacted the CU Students’ Union in order to ensure that foreign students, too, had all the information they needed.

What about those injured?

Six people were taken to hospital with injuries. According to our most recent information, which we received yesterday evening, all of them had been discharged by evening.

So it’s still not possible to secure the windows and doors of the Hollar building?

We still have no access to the premises. However, we have engaged the services of a security agency, which will enter the building the moment the police leave. At the same time we will start replacing the glass in the windows. These are the first two things we need to do to ensure that no unauthorised persons enter the building and also to protect the important documents now scattered around offices.

When will the police vacate the premises?

We cannot currently say.

The building was inspected by a structural engineer on Monday. Will there be another inspection?

We don’t yet have enough information on that, but we have ordered the services of our own structural engineer. However, we will only be able to enter the building once the police have left. Obviously the premises will also have to be inspected by the insurance company.

So it’s still too early to assess the damage?

Yes, at the moment that’s a very premature question. Everything depends on what the structural engineers say.

Most of the premises facing towards Divadelní street, where the gas exploded, are classrooms. What state are they in?

We were incredible lucky that the two largest classrooms were empty at the moment of the explosion – this was the first thing that occurred to me. Otherwise there would have been many more injured. Not only do the classrooms have glass windows, but the doors to the rooms were also blown out. It really does look like the aftermath of an explosion. We are incredibly lucky that no-one was there when the accident occurred.

It has transpired that the library suffered severe damage. How does that look?

The library probably bore the brunt. The books are covered in dust. Cupboards fell over. However, neither the shelves nor the tables in the study room were damaged. We can’t say exactly when the library will be up and running again. The lending of books should, however start soon. However, it appears that computers and digital library services have sustained damage and it will take some time to repair these and bring them back on-line. We will only be able to determine how the servers are working and which computing systems have escaped damage once we have switched on the electricity. Only then will we be able to asses our next steps.

On Tuesday afternoon the Mayor of Prague, Bohuslav Svoboda, expressed his support for and offered assistance to Charles University.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION Mail for the CU FSS is being accepted by the filing office of the Rector’s Office of Charles University. Such mail must be visibly designated with the letters FSV UK. E-mail address for current queries from students and employees: The deadline for the submission of applications for doctoral studies has been moved to 14 May 2013, as has the deadline for the submission of applications to foreign-language programmes. Personal items can be picked up between 12.30 p.m. and 5 p.m. from CU premises in Jinonice at the office of IPS director, Dr. Petr Jüptner (building A, 2nd floor, room no. 3095). Please see the FSV UK website for all current information.