Large contingent at Lake Ammer: 160 firefighters at the dairy on duty - nitric acid leaked

Created: 2022-03-26Updated: 2022-03-26 13:54

By: Andrea Graepel

Numerous rescue workers are currently on duty at the dairy in Andechs.

© Andrea Jaksch

There was a state of emergency in the monastery community of Erling on Friday.

Nitric acid had leaked from a container in the dairy.

Local residents have been warned.

Update from March 25, 6:39 p.m.:

The alarm was triggered on Friday at 8:24 a.m. by a fire alarm system in the Andechs dairy Scheitz, to which initially only the volunteer fire brigades from Erling-Andechs, Machtlfing and Herrsching (Starnberg district) were called.

However, the alarm was quickly raised after it was established that it was not smoke but nitric acid vapors that had escaped from a so-called IBC container between the production facility and the dairy's warehouse.

13 of the 43 district fire services were finally on site, as well as rescue workers from BRK, THW and the police.

At the top, according to the information from the police headquarters in Upper Bavaria North, 240 rescuers were deployed.

Acid incident at Ammersee: Eleven dairy employees had to be taken to the hospital

Inhaling the gas-vapour mixture can lead to irritation of the mucous membranes, bronchial catarrh, pneumonia and edema.

Since toxic fumes are released when it escapes, all production buildings were evacuated immediately.

According to company management, eleven employees who had come into contact with the fumes had to be treated in the hospital as a precaution.

According to the police headquarters, according to the latest information on Friday, fortunately no one was seriously injured.

Ten employees were able to leave the hospital again in the afternoon.

To be on the safe side, the Erlingen population was warned by loudspeaker announcements by the volunteer fire brigade at midday to keep windows and doors closed.

The police headquarters emphasized that there was never any danger.

Measurements were constantly taken on site.

The warning was therefore lifted again in the afternoon.

Acid incident at dairy: 160 firefighters on duty

Andechs' Mayor Georg Scheitz, as a member of the fire brigade, did not get into his emergency gear this time, but was at the scene until late afternoon.

The operations management was quickly transferred to the district fire inspection, which is also responsible for civil protection.

District fire inspector Helmut Schweikart coordinated the many firefighters who had rushed from all over the district - apart from the three fire departments who were initially alerted, there were forces from Tutzing, Starnberg, Gilching, Hochstadt, Leutstetten, Gauting, Seefeld-Oberalting, Hechendorf, Berg, Oberpfaffenhofen and Dießen on site.

Scheitz knew that there were a total of 160 firefighters.

Only those who have been trained in handling hazardous substances were allowed into the building wearing special chemical protection suits.

And since an air bottle only lasts 30 minutes, it took many, taking turns, to keep the acid from running down the duct.

"Successful," Scheitz said happily in the afternoon and was relieved.

A so-called analytical task force from the Munich professional fire brigade and external specialists have also provided support in the meantime.

The operation ended after 3 p.m.

At the time, around 50 firefighters and rescue workers from the BRK were still on site.

Acid incident in dairy: culprit's broken plastic hose

Before the end of the operation, those responsible at the dairy and the police were unable to get into the large, cordoned-off building to look for the cause.

According to previous knowledge, a broken plastic hose led to the release of the chemical.

Since this came into contact with metal and decomposed it, potentially harmful gases were produced.

The police assume a defect.

According to Georg Scheitz, production could be restarted externally from 2.30 p.m.

The milk suppliers were intercepted in front of Andechs the whole time, and the milk was loaded onto collection trucks.

In the end, Scheitz wasn't just relieved - "I'm glad no one was seriously injured," he emphasized.

He was just as impressed as Irmgard Strobl from the company management: "The emergency services did a great job." As a reward, the mayor offered a snack.

First report Friday, March 25, 12:30 p.m.: Acid leaked on the premises of the Andechs dairy

Erling –

A large contingent of rescue workers is currently on duty at the Andechs dairy.

A police spokesman said: "Today, Friday, the rescue services were informed at around 9.30 a.m. that a hazardous substance had escaped from a container on the premises of a milk processing plant on the Biomilchstraße for reasons that are still unknown.

The fire brigade and rescue service are on site with strong emergency services, the employees present are receiving medical care.

There is currently no evidence of any actual injuries.”