Gas cartridges on fire

Several explosions in a garden shed fire

The fire threatened to spread to a residential building.(Bild: Presseteam ffwrn.at)

A dramatic night for the residents of an apartment building in Wiener Neustadt. When a neighboring garden shed went up in flames, they had to be evacuated from their apartments. The fire also "popped" several times.

"Fire in hut, several explosions!" This dramatic emergency message reached firefighters in Wiener Neustadt on Sunday night. On site, the seriousness of the situation became clear: when the firefighting teams arrived, the garden shed in Daimlergasse was already fully engulfed in flames, which threatened to spread to a vehicle parked nearby and to the adjacent apartment building.

Attempts to extinguish the fire with a garden hose
Passers-by had already smashed the side window of the car so that they could push it out of the danger zone. Meanwhile, neighbors tried to keep the fire in check with a garden hose. But in vain - the flames were several meters high.

The garden shed was ablaze.(Bild: Presseteam ffwrn.at)

Gas cartridges ruptured
Just as the first Florian breathing apparatus teams were starting to extinguish the fire, there was a loud bang at the source of the fire. Several more followed. As it turned out, the heat had ruptured some gas cartridges and spray cans stored in the hut. The emergency services then had to proceed with particular caution.

The façade insulation had already melted away under the plaster in the lower part of the house!

Branddirektor Christian Pfeiffer, Einsatzleiter der Feuerwehr

Dense smoke in apartments
Due to the heavy smoke development, apartments in the neighboring residential building were also quickly filled with smoke. Firefighters therefore brought the affected residents to safety. The façade of the house also had to be opened up with a rescue saw to prevent the fire from spreading through embers. Windows and the battery of a photovoltaic system were also damaged by the intense heat.

The facade of the house had to be cut open.(Bild: Presseteam ffwrn.at)

Cause of the fire still unclear
26 firefighters worked on the dramatic garden shed fire for almost two hours. Police officers and emergency services were also on site. It remains to be seen why the fire broke out in the garden shed at night.