Two hours of pumping

Water damage in the radiology department at Villach LKH

The fire department's emergency services are equipped for virtually all emergencies: On Thursday, they responded to water damage in the radiology department.(Bild: feuerwehr-villach.at )

The Villach fire brigade had to deal with three operations at the same time on Thursday evening. They did not tackle fire, but water at Villach Hospital - with pumps, squeegees and vacuum cleaners.

Shortly before 5 p.m. on Thursday, the automatic fire alarm system at Villach Regional Hospital triggered an alarm. In accordance with the internal alarm plan, a full fire engine from the Villach main fire station was deployed. After a brief investigation on site, fortunately there was no fire, but massive water damage in the basement of the radiology department and in a wing of the hospital that is currently being renovated.

A burst pipe was causing too much water in Villach LKH.(Bild: feuerwehr-villach.at)

Equipment was called out immediately. A burst pipe in a water pipe was identified as the cause. The leak was stopped by a plumber.

Around 15 firefighters were able to pump out the water in around two hours using a submersible pump and several vacuum cleaners. The operating staff of Villach LKH provided exemplary support for this work.  

"Thanks to this swift and massively damage-minimizing operation, serious damage to the important KABEG infrastructure was averted," reports Chief Fire Officer Alexander Scharf, platoon commander of the main fire station.

Further alerts
During this operation, another team from the main fire station was called out together with the Maria Gail fire brigade to carry out safety work following a traffic accident on the B84 Faakerseestraße. At the scene, the measures were limited to clearing and securing the scene of the accident as well as tying up spilled operating fluids.

Almost at the same time, a home smoke detector in a block of flats in the Auen district triggered an alarm. Fortunately, a crew from the fire station was able to identify a false alarm on site.