AT-Alert in Tyrol

Alarm in Seefeld: Hotel Ablaze

The hotel’s roof was ablaze. Sacred objects, such as angels, were brought to safety from the adjacent church.(Bild: Robert Isser, Philipp Neuner)

Major emergency on Monday evening in the tourist town of Seefeld, Tyrol: Shortly after the winter season ended, the well-known “Klosterbräu” hotel in the heart of town suddenly burst into flames. Emergency crews battled the inferno. The adjacent church is also unlikely to have escaped unscathed. An AT-Alert was then issued for the region that evening!

At 7:11 p.m., the dramatic alarm was received by the Tyrol control center. “Fire in restaurant on top floor” was the report. Thick black smoke hung over the town that evening, and the flames were visible from afar.

Fire departments from across the region arrived inSeefeld. Numerous fire departments—including those from surrounding towns—rushed to the scene of the fire. The Seefeld firefighters were initially supported by their colleagues from Reith, Telfs, Flaurling, Zirl, and Leutasch. More followed later. “We have nine patrol cars on site,” the police also reported.

Thick smoke over Seefeld(Bild: Robert Isser)

Clearing work as a possible cause?
Part of the roof was affected by the fire; initial reports suggested that burning work being carried out there as part of a planned addition might be related to the fire.

Rescuers began salvaging valuable items from the adjacent church, which was also threatened by the flames. Among other things, the organ is believed to have been damaged. “Because the fire threatened to spread to the adjacent church, it was evacuated as a precaution,” the police reported.

Emergency responders described flames up to 30 meters high, which are said to have reached temperatures of up to 700 degrees.

In the evening, the police announced that there had been two injuries—suspected smoke inhalation. They received immediate first aid on site from the emergency responders present.

The large-scale fire department operation in the evening.(Bild: Philipp Neuner)

AT-Alert triggered
A glimmer of hope: While the flames initially blazed several meters high, the fire departments soon managed to contain them. However, three hours after the fire broke out, around 10 p.m., the all-clear had not yet been given. “The fire keeps flaring up somewhere,” said Mayor Andrea Neuner in the evening.

The wind has picked up and smoke is billowing heavily.

Elmar Rizzoli, Krisen- und Katastrophenmanagement in Tirol

Bild: Christof Birbaumer

Operation continued into the night
Elmar Rizzoli, head of crisis and disaster management in Tyrol, is also on site, supporting the local incident command. “The wind has picked up and the smoke is thick,” he described the situation. Firefighting efforts are therefore very difficult, partly due to the numerous gaps in the roof area—a real back-breaking job.” Emergency crews were unable to enter the affected church, as its structural condition is too uncertain.

Two neighboring hotels—the Post and the Lamm—with a total of 160 people had to be evacuated. The people were initially gathered at the WM-Halle and will then be distributed to other accommodations.

An AT-Alert was triggered at 8:19 p.m.(Bild: Hubert Rauth)

Residents were advised to keep windows, doors, and skylights closed. The authorities also issued an AT-Alert for this purpose. People were also advised to avoid the town center and turn off air conditioning and ventilation systems.

Sacred objects were carried out of the threatened church.(Bild: Philipp Neuner)

Hotel is a luxurious 5-star establishment
The Hotel Klosterbräu in Seefeld is a well-known 5-star resort located in the heart of the town center in a former 16th-century Augustinian monastery. The damage to the historic walls is likely to be extensive. Firefighting efforts were still underway late in the evening.