Subterranean root fires that have not yet been extinguished, several small embers that could flare up again: after days of use, numerous firefighters were still fighting the flames yesterday at the Großmittel training area in Ebenfurth (Wiener Neustadt district). Around noon yesterday, a Black Hawk from the federal army was also in action, said a spokesman for the Wiener Neustadt district fire brigade command.
The fire broke out in the restricted military area on Wednesday afternoon. One of the pieces of ammunition stored in this area probably ignited itself. Due to possible duds in the ammunition depot, firefighting was sometimes only possible from the air. In addition to the Black Hawk, a second helicopter with a thermal imaging camera was used for aerial reconnaissance to identify possible embers.
According to the district fire brigade command, around 1,400 firefighters have been on duty since Wednesday. The reason for this was numerous small root fires, “but which cannot be extinguished or usually do not even have to be extinguished because they go out themselves. We monitor these very closely, only then can ‘fire out’ be given,” says Mario Ernst, Chief of Fire Department, yesterday afternoon.
Source: Nachrichten
