Hut boss after fire: ‘The life’s work of three generations has been destroyed’

“I was always so proud and kept the character of the old cabin despite renovations. There is so much heart and soul in it. A life’s work of three generations has been destroyed” – Helmut Schranz (53), operator of the Buchberghütte at the foot of the Schafberg, is stunned. On Thursday, his family cabin was completely destroyed by a devastating fire – just this year, when the popular excursion destination celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Plumes of smoke visible from the valley
Initially, clouds of smoke were visible from Unterach am Attersee around 8 a.m. No one was in the cabin at the time of the fire. Schranz had just drained the water the night before and prepared the mountain hut for winter.

With a travel time of 15 to 20 minutes, the fire brigades had to arrive on site under winter road conditions in the border area between Upper Austria and Salzburg at 1,015 meters above sea level. “When we arrived, half of the hut was already completely on fire,” says operations manager Christopher Fischer of the FF St. Gilgen.

Helicopters brought firefighting water from Mondsee
The situation on the Eisenaualm made extinguishing the fire a challenge. “We have absolutely no way of getting firefighting water here. Two police helicopters brought water from Mondsee,” reports Fischer. The Florianis have also set up a shuttle service to transport water up the mountain. About a hundred emergency services eventually brought the fire under control.

“It is our existence”
No one was injured by the flames. The Buchberghütte itself is a total loss. They only said goodbye to the winter break at the beginning of November; the number of guests has increased significantly recently due to the boom in mountain bikes, says Schranz.

Now the future is uncertain. “But it must continue,” says the hut boss. “It is our existence, we live it.”