Major Exercise at AHT Rottenmann
On November 25th, 2023, an impressive large-scale exercise took place at the AHT Cooling Systems facility in Rottenmann, where 150 people from the fire department and Red Cross successfully managed a simulated industrial incident.
The scenario for the sectional exercise of the Paltental fire department included an explosion in the foaming department followed by fires in the production hall and a fire in a photovoltaic system on the roof. Several employees were reported missing, trapped, or injured.
The AHT company fire brigade was alerted at 09:50 AM by a simulated fire alarm in the foaming department and promptly responded to the incident. Incident commander HBI Heinz Fessel identified extensive damage during the situation assessment and immediately called for additional fire departments from the Paltental section. The incident command post and casualty collection point were established.
In wintry conditions and utilizing respiratory protection equipment, the emergency personnel rescued the missing employees, handed them over to the Red Cross or the Admont Fire Department for further care, and extinguished the fires in the production hall. Simultaneously, the fire brigade tackled the fire in the photovoltaic system on the hall roof, successfully rescuing four injured individuals with a turntable ladder.
The large-scale exercise concluded with a comprehensive debriefing attended by all participating emergency personnel, dignitaries, delegates, and actors. As part of this event, AHT Managing Director Martin Krutz was awarded the Styrian Florianiplakette in Bronze. This accolade recognizes his years of active support for the AHT company fire brigade as a token of gratitude and acknowledgment.
To celebrate the successful completion of the major exercise, AHT Cooling Systems extended an invitation for refreshments in their storage hall.