Prolonged Extinguishing Efforts After Major Fire at Paper Factory in Pitten

During the fire on the premises of a paper factory in Pitten (Neunkirchen district), extensive firefighting operations were also underway on Friday. Up to 140 firefighters are being deployed, said district commander Josef Huber upon request on Friday. An end to the operation is not immediately in sight. The fire department's plans in this regard are initially running until Sunday. Meanwhile, the company assumes a technical defect as a possible cause of the fire.

Waste paper caught fire

The fire started on Wednesday afternoon in an outdoor waste paper storage area. Mostly compressed paper bales caught fire, which need to be torn apart repeatedly for extinguishing with the help of wheel loaders and forklifts. "This will take some time," Huber anticipated. However, a lot of progress was made during the night to Friday. The deployed forces were routinely relieved by colleagues in the morning hours. According to Huber, the number of slightly injured firefighters has risen to 16.

Technical defect suspected as cause of fire

The affected company has meanwhile expressed a suspicion regarding the cause of the fire. It is likely that "a technical defect occurred with a forklift," on which "something ignited," said the technical director of the paper factory to ORF Lower Austria. The fire could have subsequently been fanned by the wind and spread to the waste paper. The Lower Austria State Police Directorate emphasized on Friday upon request that investigations are underway and "running at full speed."

(APA/Red)

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