A major fire broke out on Thursday evening at the MACO fittings company on Alpenstrasse in the city of Salzburg. The fire brigade has now brought the fire under control. Large quantities of nitric and hydrochloric acid were released, which now have to be vacuumed up.Online since today, 6:08 am
(Update: 9:23 am)Split
A meeting with the authorities took place on Friday morning to clarify how to deal with the large quantities of hydrochloric and nitric acid that leaked into drainage shafts as a result of the fire. These will probably be pumped out. In any case, there is currently no danger to the population, stresses Fire Director Werner Kloiber. A fire on Alpenstrasse is in sight: “Here and there, embers are still flickering. But we have the fire under control.”
In close coordination with the authorities, work can now begin on vacuuming up the leaked chemicals. A specialist company is on site for this purpose and will then dispose of the hazardous substances properly.
Mayer & Co Beschläge GmbH (also known under the brand name MACO) is a manufacturer of window, door and large-area fittings and a provider of system and security solutions.
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At around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, firefighters were called to the fire in Alpenstrasse. A column of smoke was already visible from afar. The professional fire department issued a major alarm. More than 150 firefighters from the professional and volunteer fire departments of the city are still in the
danger of the hall collapsing
Because of the danger of collapse in the hall and the chemicals, it is a demanding operation, explains Fire Director Kloiber of the professional fire brigade: “We have nitric acid and hydrochloric acid there, and at the moment we also have corresponding quantities of it outside the company building due to the overflow from the electroplating (the electrochemical deposition of metallic deposits, note), where we are taking cordoning off measures to ensure that no further danger can occur. Several tens of thousands of liters are in stock in the area.”
Major fire brigade operation at MACO
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14 employees were able to get to safety
14 MACO employees were able to get themselves to safety in time, says the Red Cross’s head of operations, Stephan Kirchmayer: “Two of them were injured, and we took them to hospital. We also looked after the uninjured victims and warmed them up in our cars until they could go home on their own or were picked up.”
Keep windows in the area closed
The city of Salzburg announced in a press release that the release of pollutants into the air due to the fire could not be ruled out. However, the city’s population is likely to be less affected than the surrounding communities. The plume of smoke moved with the wind towards Anif. “At the moment it is sufficient to keep the windows closed as a precaution,” said Fire Director Kloiber.
MACO100 m
Operation continues, traffic restricted
Due to the ongoing operation, only two of the four lanes of Alpenstrasse in front of the company premises are currently open; traffic is being diverted by the emergency services on one side of the road in both directions.