Major fire in Wildendürnbach: Hundreds of straw bales engulfed in flames at cattle farm

Firefighting operations stretch into the night

Since there was not enough firefighting water available at the storage hall, a shuttle service was set up to supply water. Numerous tanker fire trucks and slurry tanker transports brought water to the scene and supplied the emergency crews with replenishment at short intervals.

A total of ten fire brigades from Lower Austria and two from neighboring Czech Republic were deployed. The cross-border assistance illustrates the scale of the incident, which pushed regional capacities to their limits.

Animals and residential house spared

According to the operations command, the cattle from the breeding farm and the residential house located approximately 500 meters away were not endangered. No animals perished, the district fire brigade command stated. The responders had proactively established a wide buffer zone around the burning storage hall.

The water supply via the tankers remained the greatest challenge for hours. With no hydrant network in the immediate vicinity, the firefighting water had to be brought in over several kilometers, the crews on site explained.

Cause still unknown

According to the current state of investigations, the cause of the fire is unknown. Fire brigade fire experts have begun the investigation; a result was not yet available by Sunday morning.

The farmer who owns the cattle farm expressed shock over the loss of the stored straw, which had been intended as bedding and supplementary feed for the winter. No figures have yet been released on the amount of property damage.

The operation was still ongoing on Sunday morning. Fire brigades from surrounding districts placed personnel and equipment on standby in case further embers flared up.

The municipality of Wildendürnbach is located in the northeastern Weinviertel, not far from the Czech border. The cross-border cooperation between fire brigades has been well established in the region for years, the Mistelbach district fire brigade command emphasized.