At “Atilim” in Dreihackengasse, shopping was out of the question. “We saw a bit of smoke first,” said Akdag Mekke. The fire brigade was on site a little later: everyone had to leave the supermarket and the area was evacuated. “The smoke increased and the flames were high.” A large fire broke out in the Rösselmühle, an industrial monument in Graz, on Saturday afternoon.
The fire was discovered by “a squadron of service dogs that happened to be nearby,” said Michael Martinelli (State Police Directorate). The rescue chain was set in motion immediately. In the fire alarm center of the fire brigade, it rang continuously from 2:14 p.m. The large, black cloud of smoke above the city ruler could be seen from afar.
The professional fire brigade and five fire departments from the Graz area were on duty, not forgetting some police patrols and rescue teams. Residents were asked via loudspeakers to close their windows.
“A resident from a neighboring senior citizens’ facility suffered a panic attack,” said the Red Cross. “We brought the residents and employees into the houses and closed all the windows. Now we’re making sure that we calm everyone down and answer the questions,” said Martin Scheucher (Geriatric Health Centers). Most importantly, no one was injured in the fire.
Around 4:40 p.m., the long-awaited message arrived: “The fire is under control.” The fire brigades fought the fire on the third and fourth floors of the industrial plant with five extinguishing lines and so-called turning nozzles via three turntable ladders.
Flour was produced at the Graz location for more than 700 years, but the area has been closed since 2014.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Extensive security work still had to be done in the evening. Roofs were opened, embers extinguished. “The work will take hours.”
It was not the first time that there had been a fire at the decommissioned area. In 2017, a 12-year-old boy was found who had lit and caused a fire.