Forest fire in Semriach: Fire brigade fights against flames and smoke!

Forest fire in Semriach: Fire brigade fights against flames and smoke!

A violent forest fire caused a stir on December 26, 2024 near Semriach, north of Graz. At around 9 p.m., a driver discovered the flames and alerted the fire department. Around 250 emergency services were immediately deployed to fight the fire, which affected an area of ​​around 2.5 hectares fireworld.at reported. The extinguishing work proved to be extremely challenging as the terrain is steep and impassable, which pushed the firefighters to their limits.

Intensive firefighting work and support from the air

The fire brigade has been on duty since the early evening, supported by three police helicopters that are taking on valuable monitoring and documentation tasks. Despite the difficult conditions, the emergency services finally managed to bring the fire under control on Friday morning. It was determined that there is a likelihood that a New Year's Eve rocket that was ignited too early triggered the fire, which State Governor Mario Kunasek took up in his appeal to the population. He called for reconsideration of the use of fireworks in such dry conditions as this poses significant risks, such as krone.at reported.

In addition, a special fire brigade unit was called in to effectively contain the fire. During the operation, there were six slightly injured firefighters who had to be treated for smoke fumes and a hand injury from falling rocks. The section command staff supported the operations management in overcoming this extensive challenge. At the scene, various official representatives also inquired about the situation and thanked the firefighters for their tireless efforts.