Salzburg: major fire in the slaughterhouse | PULSE 24
A major fire broke out in a slaughterhouse in the Salzburg municipality of Bergheim on Sunday night for reasons that are still unclear.
120 volunteers and professional firefighters have been working together to fight the fire since the early hours of the morning. A feared toxic ammonia from the cooling system on the roof was prevented, as the city announced in a broadcast on Sunday morning.
Water shortage around fire site
In the morning, the surrounding population of Salzburg’s neighboring communities were informed as a precaution with closed loudspeaker announcements and called on to keep the windows closed, reported Michael Haybäck, head of the district administration authority. The situation is under control, with the wind blowing the smoke north over less populated areas. The ammonia-powered fans on the roof of the slaughterhouse cool Mann with extinguishing lines, explained fire director Reinhold Ortler in the broadcast – “We were able to prevent the toxic irritant gas, which is also combustible, from escaping.” Due to the scarcity of water around the source of the fire, pipes had to be laid on the Fischach, a tributary of the Salzach.
With the help of two cranes, the roof is opened “in order to reach a nest of embers underneath,” Ortler described the fire brigade’s approach. According to official information, the three poorly cooled systems contain around 120 kilograms of liquefied ammonia. According to Karl Schupfer, head of the municipal press center, this is “a manageable amount”. Ammonia is a pungent, toxic irritant gas that can be asphyxiating. It reacts with air pollutants and forms particulate matter. Both the gas itself and the fine dust particles formed are hazardous to health and damage plants and the environment.