Last updated: 15.01.2024, 08:53 a.m.
By: Peter Schiebel
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The wooden garden house, which was about three by three meters in size, was completely engulfed in flames and could no longer be saved. © Hechendorf Fire Brigade
Saturday morning, 3:41 a.m., the first mission of the year for the Hechendorf fire department. A garden shed burns brightly. One detail is astonishing.
Hechendorf – It was the first mission for the comrades of the Hechendorf volunteer fire brigade this year – and it was a tough one. A wooden garden shed burned down completely early Saturday morning on the Leitenhöhe.
The alarm via the integrated bar cell was received at 3:41 a.m. sharp. Both a neighbor and a member of the fire brigade had become aware of the fire, as the head of operations, Hechendorf's commander Benjamin Grütze, described to the Starnberger Merkur. The comrade lived in a parallel street and woke up to crackling noises, reports Grütze. His wife then also woke up the residents of the terraced house, on whose property the garden house stood.
In freezing temperatures, the firefighters laid hoses. © Hechendorf Fire Brigade
Grütze, an assistant manager and district fire chief Jochen Thorn were the first on the scene. They explored the site and determined its accessibility. "Other assistants located the nearest underground hydrant and instructed the first fire engine to arrive," explains Beate Blecha from the fire department. This meant that firefighting could begin as quickly as possible.
Comrades from the neighbouring Oberalting-Seefeld fire brigade positioned themselves with a second C-pipe to prevent the flames from spreading to a hedge and a garage as a so-called bolt position. The garden house was directly adjacent to the garage. The residents had the presence of mind to drive the cars out and bring them to safety, Grütze describes. In addition, the Oberaltinger turntable ladder was brought into position in order to be able to intervene in the event of the fire spreading – and to illuminate the scene.
Emergency services had put on heavy breathing apparatus when they extinguished the fire. © Hechendorf Fire Brigade
"After the spread was successfully prevented, the actual firefighting began," says Beate Blecha in her report. "With the help of a chainsaw, the garden shed was dismantled, the parts were distributed in the garden and extinguished." Seven breathing apparatus wearers were deployed, a total of 36 comrades from the two fire brigades with six vehicles. In addition, there were rescue services, helpers on site and police. The cooperation was "outstanding", Blecha emphasizes.
To be on the safe side, the neighbors were informed to keep the windows of their apartments closed because of the smoke. Because of the extinguishing water, the fire brigade also informed the municipal building yard in order to grit the road and the sidewalk after the firefighting operation. Around 6 a.m., the firefighters were back in the tool sheds, but cleaning and other work dragged on for most of the day, according to Grütze.
According to the Herrschingen police, the presumed cause of the fire is residual embers in an oven. A spokesman for Merkur said the property damage was around 4000 euros. According to the police and fire department, no one was injured.
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