Next to gas cylinders

Meter-high flames in allotment garden settlement

When the firefighters arrived, they were met with high flames.(Bild: Pressefoto Scharinger © Daniel Scharinger)

In the middle of the night, a garden shed caught fire in Braunau, Upper Austria, and the flames spread to two surrounding sheds in the allotment garden settlement. Four fire departments had to be deployed, drawing extinguishing water from the nearby Enknach river.

"The numerous gas cylinders in various barbecues and heaters also posed a particular challenge," said the Braunau volunteer fire department after the operation. They were called to the municipal allotment garden estate at around 3 a.m. on Sunday.

The firefighters were met with high flames when they arrived.(Bild: Pressefoto Scharinger © Daniel Scharinger)

Several calls
During the approach, the regional warning center informed the incident commander that several calls had already been received and that several huts were on fire.

Not much was left of the garden shed.(Bild: Feuerwehr Braunau)

Four fire departments were deployed during the night.(Bild: Feuerwehr Braunau)

The extinguishing work took around three hours.(Bild: Feuerwehr Braunau)

The firefighters immediately launched a firefighting attack wearing heavy breathing apparatus and also used water from the nearby Enknach river. The extinguishing work was completed around three hours later.

Cause of the fire unclear
The owners of the property - who had probably been barbecuing - had left the garden shed at around midnight. Neighbors later noticed the fire and raised the alarm. Fortunately, no one was injured and the cause of the fire is still unclear.