Three weirs in action – combine harvester goes up in flames on field


Major alarm on Friday evening for several fire brigades in the Mödling district in Lower Austria: a combine harvester caught fire in a field during harvesting, which also triggered a fire in the ground. More than 70 firefighters, police officers and paramedics were on duty.

Several farmers in Wiener Neudorf were busy harvesting a grain field. For unknown reasons, a combine caught fire while driving and set fire to the field, which had been very dry due to the heat of the past few weeks. The strong wind also fanned the flames. The farmers immediately notified the fire brigade and drew aisles around the fire with tractors and plows in order to curb its further spread.

Three weirs in action
In the meantime, the fire brigade sirens wailed in Wiener Neudorf, Mödling and Biedermannsdorf. With a large contingent, more than 70 helpers moved out in more than ten vehicles. The police and emergency services were also alerted, but luckily there were no injuries.

The Florianis had to drive to the actual site via a service driveway on the southern motorway. The helpers carried out the extinguishing attack while wearing respiratory protection and were able to contain the flames within a very short time and thus prevent a major fire in the ground.

Challenging use
Since the place of action was in the middle of a field, only the extinguishing water that the fire engines had on board was available on site. Therefore, a shuttle service had to be set up, in which an emergency vehicle regularly drove to the nearest hydrant and thus ensured a continuous water supply.

The post-extinguishing work lasted well into the night.