Major fire in sawmill

Flame inferno in sawmill claimed the emergency services

Firefighters battled against the wall of flames(Bild: FF Peilstein)

A major fire at a sawmill in Peilstein had to be put on alert level 3 on Saturday night, as the situation was explosive. 13 fire departments with 180 helpers immediately rushed to the scene of the fire. The fire that had broken out in the machine hall was visible to them from afar as they approached. They were able to prevent a catastrophe.

A fire broke out in the sawmill in Peilstein in the Mühlviertel region at around 9.50 p.m. on Saturday for as yet unexplained reasons. Just 15 minutes later, the production hall, in which a fire alarm had sounded, was already fully engulfed in flames. The flames could even be seen in Wegscheid, Bavaria, as well as by passengers on an airplane who posted photos of it on the Internet. Bavarian firefighters were even called out because they suspected a wind turbine fire on Hirschenberg

Spreading to neighboring buildings was prevented(Bild: FF Peilstein)

Thanks to their rapid and intensive efforts, the 13 fire departments and their breathing apparatus teams were just able to prevent the flames from spreading to neighboring buildings. However, the production hall and the vehicles parked in it were completely burnt out.

The production hall burned out completely(Bild: FF Peilstein)

Fortunately, no people were injured in the blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but a technical defect is suspected. There are no indications of arson.

The fire probably started either in the area of the electrical distribution board, the grinding room or in the crew room. The exact amount of damage is also not yet known, but could be in the tens of millions. The entire building, which also housed the sawing line, rooms for employees and some offices, was destroyed.