After a major fire on the farm: the firefighter is deeply shocked – “I have no words”
Created: 07/21/2022, 04:45 am
By: Christoph Peters, Barbara Schlotterer-Fuchs
A fire broke out on Tuesday on an agricultural property in Urspring near Steingaden.
A large contingent of fire brigades and rescue workers were on site.
Update from July 20, 2:03 p.m .:
It is a terrible picture that presents itself in the morning after the big fire in Prem: there is not much left of the threshing floor except for a charred skeleton.
The stable below is also in ruins.
Huge heaps of charred hay lie everywhere on the large terrain.
After the fire, all that is left of the threshing floor is the charred skeleton.
© Editorial team Weilheim
Again and again it smokes from the heaps.
Exhausted firefighters are still putting out embers after a sleepless night.
There is a whole queue of vehicles on the street: companies, neighbors, friends.
In the village everything is on its feet that has a trailer.
Farmers with tractors and local companies transport the extinguished hay.
Anyone who knows that 300 loads of hay were stored in the barn can imagine that the work here is far from over.
After a major fire on the farm: stable in ruins – the fireman is deeply shocked
The Urspringer fire brigade commander Michael Klein jun. stands in disbelief.
in front of the rubble.
For him, this mission was probably the most terrifying of his life: the burned-down barn belongs to his parents' house.
Even though his father escaped with minor burn injuries and both the farm and the adjacent building could just about be saved from a total fire: On this day he is at a loss for words.
The shock is deep.
"I have no words."
A total of 18 weirs fought the flames in the major fire in Urspring.
© Editorial team Weilheim
The day before, he had learned of the fire shortly after the alarm was raised after 5:30 p.m.
He immediately broke off his vacation at Lake Constance and immediately traveled home, where his comrades and men from later a total of 18 weirs fought the flames.
The list is long: Urspring, Steingaden, Lauterbach, Fronreit, Wies, Bernbeuren, Prem, Peiting, Lechbruck, Wildsteig, Böbing, Bayersoien, Trauchgau, Schwabbruck, Schwabsoien, Rottenbuch, Burggen and Roßhaupten: they are all in action, as is that THW.
The column of smoke above the fire in Urspring could be seen from miles away on Tuesday evening.
Many farmers had left their tractors in the fields to rush to action as firefighters.
It quickly becomes clear that this must be a big deal: the alarm is raised at level B4.
In fire brigade German it means something like: Worse is not possible.
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Farm on fire: horror scenario at the scene
A horrifying scenario is presented to the first on the scene: "The whole haystack was in full fire," says Norbert Ernst, second commander of the Steingaden fire brigade and operations manager on site.
The outbuildings - the courtyard behind the stables and a new extension next to the stables - have already caught fire.
In Urspring near Steingaden in the Weilheim-Schongau district, a farm is on fire.
© Hans-Helmut Herold
District fire chief Manfred Baum shows how serious it is: the roof structure on the new building has burned, the windows above have burst.
"You can see how explosive it was around the outbuildings if you look at the enormous heat development," he says, pointing to a red car that was parked in front of the outbuilding.
The front of the vehicle has melted into a strange mass.
The fact that this building and the courtyard could be saved is only thanks to the good cooperation of over 200 firefighters.
"That was close, we just made it."
Fire on a farm in Urspring: Several emergency services suffer smoke gas injuries
When fighting the fire, the respiratory protection must be alarmed at 10 p.m.
Several firefighters suffered minor smoke gas injuries.
The farmer himself escaped with minor burns when rescuing his animals.
He drove 43 cows and nine calves out of the burning barn.
The fact that the stable animals wanted to return to their homes did not make the rescue operation any easier.
Any rescue came too late for two calves, they perished in the flames.
The willingness to help is enormous.
The 43 rescued cows and the nine calves that made it have found shelter with other farmers and are being cared for and milked there.
Those who are not busy transporting the hay feed the helpers.
Residents throughout the town have set up aid stations, where the firefighters can get coffee or an ice cream.
On Tuesday evening, the Gasthaus Drei Mohren in Urspring will be converted into a refreshment station.
200 rolls and sausages are bought at the V-Markt in Lechbruck.
Major fire on farm: Enormous cohesion in town
Work continued at the scene of the accident on Wednesday.
The skeleton that is left of the hay barn is being removed by a special company with a special excavator - that's how the police investigators, who were still on site from Tuesday to Wednesday, released it.
Also yesterday, Wednesday, the investigators went on the track of the cause of the fire on site.
The investigations are ongoing.
Property damage in the millions can already be assumed.
Neighbors give the exhausted firefighters ice cream.
The night was hard not to think about sleep.
But even a small piece of ice cream can provide enormous strength.
"It's about appreciation for our work," says one of the men.
And it's about the enormous cohesion in the place.
"You don't have to beg, everyone just came to help.
That helps and is great,” says Manfred Baum.
Original notification from July 19, 2022:
Urspring - As the police headquarters in Oberbayern Süd has just announced, a farm on Kirchenstrasse in Urspring is currently on fire.
Numerous fire brigades from the region as well as rescue services and the police are on site.
More detailed information is not yet available.
You can find more current news from the region around Schongau at Merkur.de/Schongau.
