Smoking canopy

Kulturhalle Eggersdorf: Suspicion of arson

The mysterious fire called dozens of emergency services to the scene.(Bild: Freiwillige Feuerwehr Eggersdorf)

An explosive incident occurred on Saturday at the Kulturhalle Eggersdorf near Graz: The canopy was on fire while a tournament with numerous participants was being held in the adjacent sports hall. The police are investigating arson.

For the fire department, the case was quickly dealt with: they were informed by the police about a fire at the cultural hall at around 4 pm. Smoke was coming from the wooden canopy. People present immediately tackled the fire nest with fire extinguishers.

Almost 60 firefighters on site
Volunteers from Eggersdorf, Haselbach and Hart-Albersdorf deployed a total of 58 firefighters, while the turntable ladder crew from the Laßnitzhöhe volunteer fire department was requested. The firefighters opened the roof cladding and used a thermal imaging camera to search for pockets of embers. Once it was clear that there was no danger, the operation was over and the turntable ladder was not needed.

For the police, the real work then began. It was reported in the evening that initial findings suggested arson. The background is still unclear.

The source of the fire in the wooden ceiling(Bild: Freiwillige Feuerwehr Eggersdorf)

Many visitors in the sports hall next door
No one was injured and there was no danger at any time for the 100 or so people who were attending a tournament in the neighboring sports hall at the time of the incident. The amount of damage is not yet known, but is likely to be limited.