Image: Zarl
In fear of death, the three horses kicked out with their hooves, sending wood fibers flying from the shattered boards. Stefan Schaub, with heavy respiratory protection covering his face, whipped them out of the blazing stable with a whip from a neighboring box. Firefighter colleagues drove the animals, which had panicked from the falling embers, out into the open with a jet of water. Fortunately, the operation on World Animal Protection Day on the Gruber family’s homestead on the Oiden in Amstetten was just an exercise and not an emergency like the one twenty years ago. “We thought it was time to train specifically to rescue animals,” says Schaub, who was the operations manager for the special exercise. The training assumption was that lightning struck the hay barn, causing a major fire to spread across the entire farm.
After five people were rescued from the smoke, things were already difficult for eight sheep in the barn, which was filled with smoke according to the training assumption. “Communication with animals during rescue is completely different than with people,” says Schaub. Of the heavy respiratory protection squad that is always sent out for rescues, very few are farmers who are familiar with dealing with livestock. “It is important to have a calming effect on the animals despite the emergency,” says Schaub. Before the animals are freed from the danger area, firefighters have to form a line through which the cattle are guided to a safe meadow. The three horses twenty years ago could only be caught after a wild escape at the other end of the city, Schaub remembers. The evacuation of the sheep was successful during the exercise on the Gruberhof. “The animals were out in a very short time and in an orderly manner,” says Schaub. “It’s valuable experience for our people.”
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Source: Nachrichten
