Flames in the basement sparked a major operation in the airport center on Thursday. Numerous company employees in the surrounding buildings had to be evacuated for about two hours, ten of whom had to be taken to hospital. Now there are the first clues about the cause of the fire.
Ten people had to be taken to the state hospital after the major fire in the garage in the airport center. The good news: all those affected were able to leave the hospital on the same day. Two guards had inhaled smoke directly from the fire. “But they did not sustain serious injuries,” the hospital said. Eight other people felt smoke coming from the air conditioning units.
250 people were evacuated from buildings
The first fire brigade was alerted by a fire alarm around 9:30 am. It soon became clear that it was a larger fire. That is why alert level 4 has been raised. About 150 emergency services rushed to the scene of the accident. About 250 people had to be evacuated from the buildings. “There was a lot of smoke and the building also smelled. We were then evacuated and waited outside for two hours until we were allowed back in,” reports an affected employee at the DM headquarters. The evacuation went orderly.
The fire broke out in a storage room next to a corridor connecting to the DM headquarters. This caused the smoke to spread to the adjacent buildings.
According to information from “Krone”, burning work on the surface could have caused the fire. By 11 a.m. the fire had been extinguished and two breathing apparatus crews were extinguishing the fire. But even just before noon, smoke detectors could still be heard coming from many buildings. “The excitement was really high for a short time,” Jennifer said.
The saleswoman of a sports shop in the Designer Outlet, which is directly opposite the fast food restaurant, looked at what the emergency services were doing outside. “Our operations continued uninterrupted, but the number of customers was noticeably lower.” No wonder the airport center was almost completely closed off from the outside.
Concerns about private cars in the multi-storey garage
Mrs. Maier, a colleague of the young saleswoman from the sports shop, was worried about her car shortly after noon: “We are currently not allowed to use our cars in the garage because everything is closed. Hopefully that will change again during the day.”
Exactly how the fire started is still under investigation. Stored decoration materials allowed the flames to spread quickly. In addition to the professional fire brigade of Salzburg, the fire brigades of Wals, Viehhausen, Großgmain, Fürstenbrunn and Siezenheim were present.
The road and roundabout next to the center had to be closed for the work. This resulted in delays.
“Kron”: Mr. Brötzner, what was the challenge of the major firefighting operation in the airport center?
Alexander Brötzner: A fire broke out in an intermediate wing between the Designer Outlet Center and the Wals Trade Center. There was a lot of plastic decoration material stored in the room. As a result, the fire spread quickly, there was a lot of smoke and visibility was very poor.
Why was the DM headquarters evacuated?
It was a safety measure because there was a slight movement of smoke entering the building. After checking the DM headquarters, the employees were allowed back into the building after about two hours.
How many employees were affected?
200 to 250 employees work there. We don’t know exactly how many there were on Thursday.
Can you remember such a big effort in the airport center?
In the 1990s, a car once caught fire in the garage. But that was certainly the biggest effort since then.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
