Seven fire departments

Farm building in Winklern is on fire

Between 150 and 200 firefighters from seven fire brigades were deployed in Winklern.

(Bild: FF Winklern)

Seven fire departments battled the flames in the municipality of Winklern on Friday evening. A farm building had caught fire. No people were injured. But three calves died in the burning barn.

The sirens blared at 7.49 pm on Friday evening. Seven fire departments drove to the Penzelberg to extinguish the fire in a farm building. Commander Fredi Unterdorfer from the Winklern fire department briefly described the situation: "It's burning to the ground! Between 150 and 200 men are fighting the fire."

Only a skeleton of the building remained, shining through the embers and flames.

(Bild: Stützpunkt-Feuerwehr Winklern)

The farm building was in flames.

(Bild: FF Winklern)

Large-scale operation by the fire departments

(Bild: FF Winklern)

The Winklern fire department was also deployed

(Bild: FF Winklern)

The 43-year-old farmer had noticed smoke or even dust - she could not exactly name the first particles floating around - while feeding in the barn on Friday evening and fetched her son (20). He couldn't see anything unusual at first. But a few minutes later, flames were already leaping up.

The barn was gone. Within a few hours. Everything gone. We were on duty until 4 o'clock in the morning.

Fredi Unterdorfer, Feuerwehr-Kommandant

The 20-year-old, who is himself a member of the fire department, immediately alerted his colleagues and rescued seven cows from the burning barn. Three calves could no longer be brought to safety as the flames were spreading too quickly. "And the calves had never been outside before, they don't know the way, they were scared and couldn't be moved," says Unterdorfer.

The Winklern, Reintal, Lainach, Rangersdorf, Tresdorf, Stall and Flattach fire departments, which were deployed with up to 200 firefighters, were able to prevent the flames from spreading to two adjacent residential buildings or the nearby forest. Water had to be shuttled from the Iselsberg pond using five tankers. The police and Kelag were also deployed. The Red Cross was also on site. "But no people were injured," said Fredi Unterdorfer.

Only a skeleton, still glowing with embers and flames during the night, remained of the former stable - and that is now collapsing.

The cause of the fire is now the subject of a police investigation.