Weapons and ammunition

Fire! Neighboring building saved despite explosions

A shed in Eisenreichs near Pfaffenschlag in the district of Waidhofen an der Thaya was on fire.

(Bild: BFK WT/ St. Mayer)

The highest fire alert level was issued on Thursday afternoon in the Waldviertel region of Lower Austria: At around 4 p.m., the fire departments were called to a blaze. The flames threatened to spread to neighboring buildings. Several breathing apparatus teams were able to prevent this at the last second.

The operation for the fire departments in Eisenreichs, in the municipality of Pfaffenschlag in the district of Waidhofen an der Thaya, was not only hot, but also explosive. A barn in which weapons and ammunition were legally stored was on fire in the village of around 50 inhabitants.

Explosive fire
Many smaller explosions made the firefighting operation considerably more difficult for the breathing apparatus teams from the ten fire departments. Despite this, the crews were able to prevent the flames from spreading to the residential building of the agricultural property and to the neighboring farm.

Fire is expected to be extinguished in the evening
The fire could not yet be put out at 6 pm. The heavy smoke made the remaining extinguishing work difficult. According to initial reports, there were no injuries; the Red Cross was on site as a precaution. Animals are also not believed to have been harmed.

Tractor burnt out completely
"Fortunately, several fire engines were on the scene quickly. A tractor was nevertheless engulfed by the flames," Waidhofen district fire brigade spokesman Stefan Mayer gave an initial brief comment to the "Krone" newspaper. He confirmed that the fire was already under control.

At the beginning, establishing the water supply quickly was a particular challenge, Mayer emphasized. For the fire-fighting teams, pipes were laid to two ponds, each more than 200 meters away.