At the airport center

Scorching work could have triggered large-scale operation

150 firefighters battled the flames and evacuated the buildings.

(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

Flames in the basement triggered a major operation at the Airportcenter on Thursday. Numerous company employees in the surrounding buildings had to be evacuated for around two hours, ten of whom had to be taken to hospital. There are now initial indications as to the cause of the fire.

Ten people had to be taken to the regional hospital after the major fire in the Airportcenter garage. The good news: all those affected were able to leave the hospital on the same day. Two security guards had inhaled smoke directly from the fire. "But they did not suffer any serious injuries," reports the hospital. Eight other people were exposed to the smoke via the air conditioning systems.

250 people were evacuated from buildings
At around 9.30 a.m., the first fire department was alerted by a fire alarm. It quickly became clear that it was a major fire. The alert was therefore raised to level 4. Around 150 firefighters rushed to the scene. Around 250 people had to be evacuated from the buildings. "There was a lot of smoke and it also smelled in the building. Then we were evacuated and we waited outside for two hours until we were allowed back in," reports an affected employee at the DM head office. The evacuation went smoothly.

The area was completely cordoned off for several hours for the extinguishing work.

(Bild: Matthias Nagl)

The fire broke out in a storage room next to a connecting corridor to the DM head office. As a result, the smoke spread through the adjoining buildings.

According to information from "Krone", the fire may have been caused by scorching work that was taking place on the surface. The fire was already extinguished by eleven o'clock and two breathing apparatus teams were busy with the post-extinguishing work. But even shortly before midday, the alarm of the smoke detectors could still be heard from some of the buildings. "The excitement was really great for a short time," said Jennifer.

The saleswoman from a sports store in the Designer Outlet, which is located directly opposite the fast food restaurant, watched the emergency services outside. "Our business continued without interruption, but the number of customers was noticeably lower." No wonder, as the Airport Center was almost completely sealed off from the outside.

Alert level 4 was important because it meant we had enough breathing apparatus teams available for the extinguishing work.

Bezirksfeuerwehrkommandant Klaus Lugstein

Concern about private cars in the multi-storey garage
Ms. Maier, a colleague of the young sports shop saleswoman, was worried about her car shortly after midday: "We're not allowed to go to our cars in the garage at the moment, everything is blocked off. Hopefully that will change during the course of the day."

The exact cause of the fire is still being investigated. The flames were able to spread quickly due to stored decoration material. The Wals, Viehhausen, Großgmain, Fürstenbrunn and Siezenheim fire departments were deployed alongside the Salzburg professional fire department.

The road and traffic circle next to the center had to be closed for the work. This caused delays.

Interview mit Einsatzleiter Alexander Brötzner

„Sicher der größte Einsatz seit den 1990ern“

"Krone": Mr. Brötzner, what was the challenge of the major firefighting operation at the Airport Center?
Alexander Brötzner: A fire broke out in an intermediate wing between the Designer Outlet Center and the Wals Trade Center. A lot of plastic decoration material had been stored in the room. As a result, the fire spread quickly, there was a lot of smoke and visibility was very poor.

Why was the DM headquarters evacuated?
It was a safety measure because there was a slight spread of smoke into the building. After the DM head office was checked, the employees were allowed back into the building after about two hours.

How many employees were affected?
Between 200 and 250 employees work there. We don't know exactly how many were there on Thursday.

Can you remember such a large-scale operation at the Airport Center?
In the 1990s, there was once a car on fire in the garage. But it was certainly the biggest operation since then.