German Firefighters Battle Factory Roof Blaze

Firefighters with the Enzesfeld, Germany, fire brigade responded Monday to a roof fire at a metalworking factory in Fabriksstraße, a fire brigade report states.

For reasons unknown so far, the roof soffit caught fire about 3:46 p.m. Fortunately, the fire was immediately recognized by the workers and the shift supervisor called the emergency number 122 to alert the fire department. 

When the first fire trucks reached the company premises on Fabriksstrasse, the cloud of smoke could already be seen from afar. The head of operations recognized the seriousness of the situation and raised the alert level from B3 to B4, whereupon the fire brigades Lindabrunn, Hirtenberg, Berndorf and Pottenstein were re-alerted for support. 

After the factory hall had been properly evacuated, the extinguishing work could begin. Attempts were made to fight the fire from the inside with breathing protection. The fire-fighting teams also reached the roof via the fire escape from outside, where the extent of the fire was already visible. A few minutes later, the rest of the fire brigades arrived at the scene. Including the turntable ladder of the Berndorf base fire department. With combined forces, the respiratory protection troops now fought against the flames, which quickly spread under the roof skin, in the wooden planking of the roof structure. In places had to. the roof can be opened. The extinguishing work proved to be difficult, as flames kept leaping up from the beams. 

The firefighting work for the respiratory protection teams, who had to stay at dizzying heights on the factory floor, was particularly sweaty. A firefighter suffered a faint attack and had to be taken care of by the Red Cross paramedics who were present on site. After about three hours, the fire was under control. With the thermal imaging camera, isolated pockets of embers could still be located and extinguished from the inside with a lifting platform and a fire lance. 

The commander of the Pottenstein fire brigade section, BR Rudi Hafellner, monitored the operation. "It is thanks to the rapid alerting that the fire did not get any further out of control," said the fire council. "My big thanks go to the numerous emergency services for the good cross-location cooperation!"

After all the work had been done, the head of operations, Commander Michael Hebesberger, could give "Brandaus". 

Considerable damage was caused to the roof of the hall, the cause and the amount of damage cannot yet be given. 

The 5 fire brigades moved into the respective tool sheds with a total of 62 comrades in order to restore operational readiness. Enz