The Styrian fire brigade can look back on a busy New Year’s Eve. Tragic: In St. Georgen ob Kreischberg, the house of a family with four children burned down completely. A farm building in Bad Gleichenberg was destroyed by flames. Fortunately, no one was injured in either case.
The family with four children from St. Georgen am Kreischberg (Murau district) had visitors on New Year’s Eve when the fire broke out. First, a “Troadkasten” (old granary) and a carport next to it were on fire. A short time later, the fire spread to the roof of the house and a stable building was also threatened.
When emergency services arrived, the entire family and visitors were already outside and no one was injured. A total of seven volunteer fire brigades with 103 emergency services attempted to extinguish the fire. They were able to save the stable building. However, the house and carport, where three vehicles were parked, burned down completely. According to police, the cause of the fire is currently unknown.
Bad Gleichenberg: Commercial building in full fire
Two hours later there was also a major fire brigade operation in Bad Gleichenberg in south-eastern Styria. Around 10:20 p.m., a 77-year-old in the Bairisch-Kölldorf district noticed a fire in the attic of his farm. Shortly afterwards the entire building was completely on fire.
72 firefighters were deployed and the fire was finally extinguished shortly before 2am. There were no injuries in this case either. Employees of the municipality of Bad Gleichenberg spread salt because of the black ice created by the fire extinguishing water. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
Firecrackers set fire to hedges
According to the initial assessment of the State Fire Brigade Association, in addition to these two major operations, there were fifteen other hedge and meadow fires, most of which were probably caused by fireworks. Several emergency callers had to be instructed to extinguish still burning fireworks batteries with water.
An example of such an operation: In Spielberg (Murtal district), around 7 p.m. several thujas caught fire in a residential area, just a few meters away from the houses. According to operations manager Gerald Stengg (Spielberg Fire Department), 18 firefighters brought the flames under control. The hedge was then examined for residual heat with a thermal imaging camera.
There is a lack of precipitation, a high risk of forest fires
Before New Year’s Eve, the Styrian fire brigade urged people not to use fireworks or to proceed very carefully. Due to the lack of rainfall in large parts of the country, it is very dry. The risk of forest fires is high, as examples in recent days (Semriach, Laßnitzhöhe) have shown.
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.
