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On Friday night, a task force of firefighters from Lower Austria left for Bordeaux, France. The 74 firefighters are helping to extinguish the wildfire that has been raging for weeks.
08/12/2022 17.21
Online since today, 17:21
The first convoy with twelve vehicles and 27 men from the “AT – Fighting land forest fires with the use of vehicles” unit started on Thursday at 22:00, the journey takes about 30 hours. Another vehicle with two emergency services will follow on Friday and 47 emergency services will be flown to the operational area 1,700 kilometers away on a chartered flight from Vienna Airport in Schwechat (Bruck an der Leitha district).
The aim of the Austrian Netherlands is in the most affected department of Gironde, in the southwest of France, specifically in the municipality of Hostens, of 1,300 inhabitants, in the administrative district of Bordeaux, 50 kilometers south of Bordeaux. For weeks there have been massive forest fires over a total area of 6,000 hectares.
Photo series with 4 photos
NÖLFK/SID Team Twelve vehicles, most of them special forest fire vehicles, are currently on their way to Hostens
NÖLFK/SID team The trip takes a total of 30 hours, most firefighters arrive at the scene by plane
Team NÖLFK/SID Equipment last used in the great fire on the Rax
NÖLFK/SID Team State Fire Department Commander Fahrafellner spoke about one of the most challenging operations in history
France’s firefighters asked foreign colleagues for support this week through an EU aid mechanism. Germany, Greece, Poland, Romania and Sweden have also sent support to France, where massive fires are raging in several regions.
74 emergency services from Lower Austria are helping in France
In coordination with the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Lower Austria is sending 74 auxiliary workers and twelve vehicles, including forest firefighting vehicles from the special forest fire service – more on this in Forest fires: Firefighters help in France ( noe.ORF. on; August 11, 2022). According to a transmission from the command of the Lower Austria fire brigade, the focus of operations is particularly on fighting fires by ground units, as there are currently only few or no firefighting aircraft available throughout Europe.
The provisional duration of use was given as one week. Depending on the situation, however, the duration can still change, it is said. In Bordeaux, fire department state councilor Josef Huber is responsible for coordinating Lower Austria’s emergency services. Huber most recently managed the foreign mission to North Macedonia in August 2021 and the great fire in the Rax area last fall. At the farewell ceremony, the commander of the State Fire Department, Dietmar Fahrafellner, highlighted that this will be one of the most challenging missions abroad in history.