“Forest fire” knew no national borders: 101 vehicles were used in a large-scale exercise

Members of the fire brigade, water rescue, mountain rescue, Red Cross and police took part in the largest operational exercise ever carried out in the Amstetten district in Opponitz. The assumption was that there was a severe storm, which, among other things, led to a forest fire in extremely steep terrain. 525 emergency services from the Amstetten and Steyr-Land districts had to extinguish forest fires on steep slopes, bind up traces of oil on the Ybbs and protect buildings from flames. The two district fire brigade commanders Rudolf Katzengruber and Wolfgang Mayr took stock of the exercise, in which 101 vehicles were used: “Several drone groups made a decisive contribution to ensuring that we were very efficient in the fight.” A 1,600 meter long suction pipe had to be laid from the local football field alone to a “burning” farm.