Intensive fire brigade use: smoldering fire in Reith demands 9 hours of work!

Intensive fire brigade use: smoldering fire in Reith demands 9 hours of work!

On July 3, 2025, a serious smoldering fire occurred in a wood chipping system in Reith near Kitzbühel. The farmers' first attempts at extinguishing were unsuccessful, which ultimately led to the alarm of the fire brigade. Both the href = "https://www.fireworld.at/2025/07/06/tirol-anstrengender-unde-fuer-fuer-feuerwehren-in-4-m-tiefen- Hackschnitzelbunker-in-Reith-bei-kitzbuehel/"> Going were salarized. Access to the source of the fire was extremely challenging, since only a shaft lid could be accessed from above.

The emergency services used a total of 18 respiratory protection wearers and worked for almost 9 hours to control the situation. With the support of the Ellmau fire brigade, which provided a sweeper to vacuum the wood chips, around 80 cubic meters of material could be removed from the bunker. The mission ended in the early morning of July 4, 2025 at around 3:45 a.m.

follow -up on July 4th

On the evening of July 4th, there was a fire again in the area affected after a slight smoldering fire in the afternoon was extinguished by a garden hose. A 69-year-old man who had informed the fire brigade suffered suspicion of flue gas poisoning and was admitted to the St. Johann hospital. There were 62 firefighters from Reith and Going with ten vehicles who were able to successfully combat the new fire, as the Feuertrutz there are no comprehensive and uniform fire statistics in many regions, which can hinder preventive measures.

resource use

At the first assignment on site, not only the fire brigades Reith and Going, but also the team of the St. Johann fire brigade and the emergency services were present. In total, 33 men from the Reith fire brigade, 23 from the Goes fire brigade, 4 of St. Johann, 2 men from the Ellmau building yard as well as the emergency services and the police with a total of 3 men. 35 breathing air bottles were used to equip the respirator with sufficient air supply.

The current events in Reith near Kitzbühel illustrate the complex challenges that the fire brigade and the emergency services face, especially in rural areas in which fire fighting requires special prerequisites and resources.