Financial scandal at the Marchtrenk fire brigade: Investigations against top forces!

Financial scandal at the Marchtrenk fire brigade: Investigations against top forces!

The Marchtrenk volunteer fire brigade is at the center of a sensational financial scandal that has caused excitement since March 31, 2025. Several members of the fire brigade are examined by the Wels public prosecutor's office on suspicion of embezzlement, commercial heavy fraud and severe theft. The investigation was initiated by information from the inner environment of the fire brigade, with mobile devices also secured by six firefighters on March 23, 2025.

A central point of the allegations are cash income from private pool fillings carried out by the fire brigade. There is suspicion that these income was not billed correctly and parts of the funds may have been used for private purposes. The public prosecutor has therefore targeted the internal communication channels, in particular a WhatsApp group, in which the use of cash amount was discussed. The evaluation of the confiscated smartphones is expected to take two to three months.

discrepancies and internal exams

In addition to the investigation, there are inconsistencies from the Marchtrenk fire brigade itself. According to reports, numerous invoices are missing or these are not correctly issued, especially with regard to a newly purchased fire engine and an unreasonable child seat. Mayor Paul Mahr (SPÖ) has confirmed that the community investigated rumors of these financial matters. However, due to a corporation of public law, the municipality was restricted in its examination.

An external company was commissioned to carry out the financial examination. The first survey results show that there are several suspicions that require a detailed review of the missing invoices and corresponding documents by October 2024. The incumbent fire brigade commander is not currently expressed because he deepens into legal conversations. Mayor Mahr emphasized that the doubts are specifically directed against individuals and that the entire fire department should not be affected.

effects on the fire brigade and the community

The willingness of the Marchtrenk fire department remains maintained despite the ongoing investigation. It is planned that the population is continuously informed about the processes to ensure transparency. The State Fire Brigade Command Upper Austria has already initiated a disciplinary procedure in which possible suspenders and office accumulations are checked.

Markus Voglhuber, spokesman for the state fire brigade command, described the current incident as an individual case and confirmed that the fire brigades in Upper Austria, of which there are over 900 with tens of thousands of members, continued to do their valuable voluntary work. This worrying scandal throws a shadow on the community, which is strongly dependent on the commitment of the firefighters.

Further information on these developments can be found at Netlibrary .

Report more details on the investigation and the current status MeinDZIRD About the status of the offices and possible consequences.