Big fire raged on farm: 70 cattle and pigs rescued

In the Braunau and Steyr-Land districts, a total of three fires kept the emergency services on their toes from Thursday to Friday, and several hundred firefighters were deployed.

Yesterday morning alone, up to 250 men and women fought the flames that broke out in the outbuildings of a remote farm in Glasenberg in Maria Neustift. The dense smoke could be seen from afar down in the town center. Numerous residents alerted the Maria Neustift fire brigade at around 9:30 a.m.

On Saturday, the company, in which wood chips are also produced, was inspected by fire experts. They concluded that the fire started at a milking facility. The vacuum pump had a mechanical defect, which may have caused the major fire, the police press office said. The building was destroyed, of course, and the damage is likely to amount to hundreds of thousands of euros.

The helpers saw immediately that additional help was needed and then alerted 16 other volunteer fire departments. A total of 30 fire engines were deployed. On site, the supply of fire-fighting water was difficult. Two water pipes had to be laid, one was around 1,000 meters long, according to District Fire Brigade Commander Wolfgang Mayr. “Fortunately, we were able to prevent the flames from spreading to the house.” The fact that the wind changed in the course of the operation was beneficial for the fire brigades. All animals, around 70 cattle and some pigs, were safely brought outside. Nobody got hurt.

A 40-year-old from Salzburg was seriously injured in a fire in the village of Schneegattern in Lengau (Braunau district) late Thursday evening.

The fire broke out around 10:20 p.m. in the apartment of a 35-year-old where Salzburg was a guest. The man was lying unconscious on the living room sofa when firefighters forced down the door. The police suspect that the guest smoked a cigarette before falling asleep.

Danger of explosion averted

The situation was risky when entering the apartment, according to district fire brigade commander Josef Kaiser. Because when the door was opened, additional oxygen entered the glowing apartment and threatened to trigger a smoke gas explosion. The flue gases were successfully cooled with so-called spray jets. Unfortunately, any rescue came too late for a dog. The 40-year-old had to be taken to the hospital with severe burns. The 35-year-old homeowner, who was sleeping in the bedroom, was awakened and taken safely outside. During the operation, a firefighter suffered mild smoke inhalation.

Two hours earlier, a fire broke out in a large bakery in Altheim. Employees there had previously carried out welding work on a cooling machine for a gas-fired oven. The shift workers immediately sounded the alarm, so that all colleagues, a total of 26 people, were able to leave the building quickly. However, three employees suffered from smoke inhalation, and a 41-year-old Romanian woman had to be hospitalized.