Major Fire in Flinsdorf: 145 Emergency Responders Prevent Spread to Residential Houses

Barn Collapses, Straw Is Doused

A burning barn largely collapsed during firefighting operations, as the firefighters reported in the evening hours: "Während der Löscharbeiten stürzte die brennende Scheune Großteils ein." According to reports, this was followed by "die kräftezehrenden Arbeiten": Using a telescopic loader and by hand, smoldering straw was removed from the fire ruins and selectively doused. The district command reported the partial collapse in a press release.

At around 7:45 p.m., "Brand aus" could finally be reported: Gegen 19.45 Uhr konnte „Brand aus" gegeben werden. A fire watch was set up until Monday morning to prevent reignition. According to the district command, the cause of the hedge fire is the subject of investigations.

Second Major Operation: Fire on a Freight Train

In St. Pölten city, the fire department also had to respond to a fire on Saturday. As police reported on Monday upon inquiry, a defective battery likely caused a fire in a container on a parked freight train below the Stockinger Bridge near the Kaiserwald in St. Pölten on Saturday. The heavy smoke development was visible far across the city area.

The fire department deployed around 40 members at the scene. The fire was initially extinguished from the outside using ladders, which prevented the flames from spreading to other parts of the train. An excavator was used to move the train set a few meters, and the container was emptied by the responsible company. The railway line was closed for a short time.

Investigations into the Cause of the Fire

Both fires – the hedge fire near Flinsdorf and the container fire in St. Pölten – occupied emergency responders in Lower Austria within 24 hours. While the exact cause of the fire in Flinsdorf is still being investigated, police assume a defective battery to be the most likely cause for the freight train fire. According to the current state of investigations, no injuries were reported in either case.

The column of smoke above Flinsdorf was visible from a distance, according to the fire department, and reminded residents of the force with which a initially small hedge fire can spread to buildings and vehicles within minutes. The fact that no residential house burned down completely and no injuries were reported is attributed by emergency responders to the rapid escalation of the alert level and the high number of firefighters deployed.