The two accused workers (42, 49) allegedly caused the fire on the roof of the school through negligence. The Salzburg district court clarified on Monday: the workers “did what had to be done”. They also could not have prevented the fire on the roof of the school. Acquittal!
July 11, 2022, the first day of summer vacation and the school is on fire. This is the HAK1 in Salzburg: on that day a devastating fire broke out near the roof. 200 firefighters went out and put out the fire. The result: ten million euros in damage and a destroyed school building.
While the students are now taught in containers until 2025, two German roofers had to answer to the Salzburg court on Monday: According to the indictment, they caused the fire through negligence because they took their lunch break instead of checking their extinguishing work. Defense attorney Christoph Rother replies, “You kept fire watch for half an hour and you followed all the regulations.”
The workers (42, 49) with more than 20 years of experience emphasize their innocence to judge Alexander Wagenhofer: “We smoked, looked, everything. Nothing to notice.’ They always keep a 30-minute fire watch after extinguishing: ‘It is mandatory.’
The fire in the attic would probably have gone unnoticed even with a check
No one smoked, safety was taken care of. They only had a lunch break of less than an hour: the fire brigade was already there when they returned. Also in auditorium 9, the school building from the 1970s had a “special roof geometry”. After a number of questions, even the construction and fire experts declared: “There remains a residual risk.” The fire that had broken out in the roof space would have spread unnoticed even if the extinguishing work had been checked for a longer period of time.
The judge announces acquittals for lack of proof of guilt, looks at the workers and says, “You did what was necessary.” The decision is not final.
Source: Krone
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