The Olching police point out that due to the persistent drought it is currently very dangerous to handle fire outdoors. Three fires on Saturday show this impressively.
Fire caused by working with flaming equipment
As reported by the police, a 64-year-old man wanted to remove weeds from his garden in the morning hours of Saturday in Olching with a weed burner. The fire from the gas burner got out of control due to the severe drought. It spread to a hedge. This, in turn, set a gazebo on fire and spread to such an extent that the facade of the building was also damaged. Outside the property, behind the burning hedge, the fire also spread to a power distributor, leaving several residents on the street without power for hours. According to the police, the “quick and professional action of the Olching volunteer fire department” prevented the fire from spreading to the residential building. Nobody got hurt. The damage should amount to around 15,000 euros.
Several allotment sheds destroyed by fire
In an allotment garden in the eastern part of Olching, three arbors were destroyed by a fire on Saturday afternoon. According to the police, a young couple who only recently own a parcel in the complex wanted to burn old wooden slats from their house in order to build a new one. The young people burned the wooden slats in a hearth surrounded by massive stones. However, due to the severe drought, the fire also got out of control. They immediately tried to delete it themselves, but were unsuccessful. The fire also damaged the two neighboring garden sheds so badly that they had to be demolished. The damage is estimated by the police at around EUR 20,000. Here, too, the Graßlfing and Gröbenzell fire brigades were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other huts. Luckily no one was injured by the fires.
Small forest fire in a birch grove
In the local recreation area west of Olching, walkers became aware of a fire in a birch grove on Saturday afternoon. The area is a moss area. The fire burned over an area of about one hectare. 30 firefighters from the Überacker, Maisach, Geiselbullach and Gernlinden volunteer fire departments were deployed to fight the fire. The dedicated emergency services managed to contain the fire and ultimately extinguish it before large stands of trees were destroyed. According to the police, mostly dead wood burned in the forest.
As part of the investigation, the police found that a campfire had been lit in the grove. She does not rule out that playing children fanned the campfire, which then got out of control. “The damage to property is likely to be minor in the present case, but making fires in the forest is prohibited and very dangerous in the current dry phase,” says the report. If witnesses have made observations that could be useful for clarification, they can report to the Olching Police Inspectorate. No one was injured in this fire either.
Technical defect in the washing machine
On Sunday night, a fire broke out in a terraced house in Gröbenzell due to a technical defect in a tumble dryer. Since smoke detectors were also installed in the laundry room, the couple who live in the terraced house were woken up. The Gröbenzell volunteer fire brigade quickly extinguished the fire and ventilated the building so that the residents could go back into the house. As a precautionary measure, the spouses were treated on site because of suspected smoke gas intoxication. The damage to the building and property is estimated at around 2,000 euros.