False Gas Alarm in Steindorf Industrial Area: Around 200 People Evacuated

According to the Straßwalchen fire department, a total of around 30 emergency personnel from the fire department, police, and Red Cross were on scene with six vehicles. As a precaution, around 200 people from five surrounding company buildings were evacuated and guided to assembly points while specialists carried out measurements outdoors and inside the buildings. The responsible gas network operator, Salzburg AG, was also called in.

Major Operation with Around 30 Emergency Personnel

After the on-site measurements, the all-clear could be given: "Weder Messungen des Gasnetzbetreibers noch der Feuerwehr konnten eine erhöhte Gaskonzentration feststellen," it was said from the operations command. At around 11:40 a.m., the situation was officially classified as harmless, so that the evacuated employees were able to return to their workplaces.

As became apparent during the subsequent investigations, the alarm was attributable to sewer cleaning work by a local company. When a sewer was being pumped out, odors had developed that were misinterpreted by those present as a gas smell. The emergency personnel therefore spoke of a false alarm, but emphasized that given the unclear situation, the evacuation and measurements had been the only correct course of action.

Cause Was a Sewer Cleaning

The affected companies in Steindorf belong to the industrial site of the market town of Straßwalchen, around 25 kilometers northeast of the city of Salzburg. According to the fire department, the evacuation proceeded in an orderly fashion; no injuries were reported.

No statement was initially available from the gas network operator Salzburg AG on Wednesday. Salzburg AG is responsible for operating the gas distribution network in the region and carried out the measurements together with the fire department. Both bodies confirmed in agreement that no elevated gas concentration was measurable at any point.

Response of the Emergency Personnel and Consequences

The incident is reminiscent of comparable operations in Salzburg in which odors from the sewer network had likewise caused gas alarms. Operations commander Standl assessed the response of the emergency organizations as exemplary: Despite the ultimately harmless trigger, the procedures had been followed and people had been brought to safety promptly.

After the all-clear, operations in the five affected company buildings quickly returned to normal. "Die Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter konnten wieder zurück an ihre Arbeitsplätze kehren," said Standl.

The Straßwalchen fire department also drew an initial balance at midday: Around 30 people from the fire department, police, and Red Cross had been deployed with six vehicles. According to reports, there was no indication of an actual gas leak or health impairments.