The commercial academy in Salzburg-Lehen caught fire. The damage is immense, many classrooms are unusable.
“This isn’t how I imagined the start of the summer holidays to be.” Director Thomas Heidinger had to watch helplessly on Monday as the roof of his school caught fire. The meter-high flames and dense clouds of smoke could still be seen and smelled several kilometers away from the commercial academy (HAK 1). The school director was one of the first to notice the fire. He was in the school building on Monday morning. “It smelled strongly of smoke. The rescue chain worked perfectly. Everyone got out safely,” says Heidinger. Minutes later, the professional fire brigade and the volunteer fire brigade were on site. More than 100 men fought against the intense flames. Insulation material may have started to burn during scarfing work on the roof. The rooms on the top floor quickly caught fire. The fire brigade opened the roof sheet to get to the flames. For safety reasons, the firefighters were withdrawn from the roof at around 2 p.m. The extinguishing work was then carried out using turntable ladders. “An area of almost 1100 square meters was in full fire,” says Reinhold Ortner, fire director of the Salzburg professional fire brigade. A firefighter was injured. At 10 p.m. a second loading crane was requested. At midnight, firefighting was still going on. The damage is extensive, and there was also water damage. The search for replacement quarters is ongoing. “Many classrooms will not be usable even when school starts,” Rudolf Mair is certain. The education director assumes that at least 150 students will need alternative accommodation. “The search is already underway. Container classes in the parking lot in front of the school would be possible,” says Mair.
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