Fireworks are likely to have caused a fire on the Gaisberg in Salzburg
Around 8 p.m., undergrowth on the west side of the Gaisbergspitze caught fire, it spread quickly and covered around 1000 square meters. In Tyrol, the fire brigade had to respond to many small fires.
Fireworks are likely to have caused a fire on the Gaisberg in Salzburg on New Year’s Eve. Around 8 p.m., undergrowth on the west side of the Gaisbergspitze caught fire, it quickly spread across the dry area and covered around 1000 square meters. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames and prevented them from spreading to trees. During an inspection of the fire area, the remains of pyrotechnic objects were found, according to the police.
Many smaller fires in Tyrol
In Tyrol, the first “normal” New Year’s Eve after Corona went relatively smoothly for the emergency services. Above all, the fire brigades had to respond to numerous, mostly small, fires, the Innsbruck “Mountain New Year’s Eve” with several thousand people was mostly quiet, the riots feared beforehand did not occur. According to the rescue service in the state capital, only two people had to be given medical care on the spot.
A transport to the clinic was not necessary, it said. The visitors of the “Mountain New Year’s Eve”, which this time took place on the Rennweg between the Hofburg and the State Theater, behaved “very disciplined”, said police spokesman Stefan Eder. There were no major problems, the night was “rather quiet” for the police in Innsbruck. There have also been no major incidents nationwide. In any case, the safety concept worked well.
The Tyrolean police had deployed 150 additional officers for New Year’s Eve. A search order was also issued for the “Mountain New Year’s Eve”. Visitors had to have their bags and clothing searched upon entry. There was concern recently because signs of possible New Year’s Eve riots in Innsbruck – analogous to Halloween night in Linz – had been circulating here and there on the Internet. Ultimately, however, it didn’t come to that.
However, the employees of the Tyrol control center, which dispatches the emergency services, and above all the fire brigades, were kept on their toes. The control center recorded 102 alarms in the core time between 11:30 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. – on New Year’s Eve 2021/2022 there were still 64, albeit under corona signs. The rescue had to be alerted mainly because of cases with official alcohol consumption and conflicts after falls or fireworks.
Assault with firecrackers
In Sölden in Ötztal, for example, there was a serious case of physical injury from a firecracker. A 19-year-old Norwegian was injured in the right thigh. A stranger had thrown a firecracker in the direction of the young man in the center of town. The firecracker exploded about two meters away. The 19-year-old was injured so badly that he had to be taken to a doctor in Obergurgl by the rescue team after first aid.
On New Year’s Eve, the Tyrolean emergency services were confronted with many, mostly smaller fires, which did not result in any injuries, but “only” damage to property. A balcony of a family home in Baumkirchen (Innsbruck-Land district) caught fire early in the evening. Two neighbors noticed the fire, called 911 and began fighting the fire. The fire brigade had to open part of the house facade and remove the affected insulating material. Fire were probably pyrotechnic objects. The fire in a hedge of an apartment building in Inzing (also in the Innsbruck-Land district) had the same cause.
A small forest fire broke out in Sölden, while a wooden box stored on a balcony of a farm building in Wörgl (Kufstein district) caught fire for an unknown reason.
Fires broke out in a garbage container and a locked garbage room in an apartment building in Axamer Lizum and in Niederndorf (Kufstein district). In the latter case, a passerby noticed smoke and made an emergency call. The Niederdorf fire brigade finally got the flames under control. In Innsbruck it was a container for old clothes that caught fire shortly after midnight. A vigilant driver noticed the fire and sounded the alarm. The professional fire brigade had to open the container with metal cutters to fight the flames.
Water rescue and mountain rescue were also required in addition to the fire brigade: This moved out because in Jochberg in the Kitzbühel district four people had gotten into a creek bed in a partially sloping area from which they could no longer free themselves. The four were recovered and taken to the hospital.
(pa)