Fire destroys farm building in St. Donat

A fire destroyed an agricultural building in Ritzendorf, near St. Donat in St. Veit an der Glan, on Sunday evening, ORF reported. Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to a house and a second cattle barn. Two people were slightly injured.

Drivers on the Klagenfurter Straße S37 and neighbours noticed the fire shortly after 8 p.m. and alerted emergency services. Five fire brigades responded with 19 vehicles and 110 firefighters.

The agricultural building was fully ablaze when firefighters arrived. The flames threatened a nearby barn containing 110 cattle and a residential building. The cattle were brought out unharmed.

Firefighters used water tank trailers holding a total of 14,000 litres to contain the blaze. The low water level in the Glan river, attributed to continuing dry conditions, made the operation more difficult. The fire was under control after about two hours, but crews continued extinguishing hot spots until the early morning. The operation ended at about 4.30 a.m.

One person was taken to hospital with suspected smoke inhalation. A firefighter suffered a cut and was treated by the Red Cross. The damage is considerable, while the cause of the fire remains unknown.

Police attended with three patrols and six officers. The Red Cross deployed two vehicles and five personnel.