Numerous fire brigades from the Hartberg regional fire brigade association, from the neighbouring area of Fürstenfeld and from Burgenland were called to attend a large fire brigade section drill in section 6 on 21 June 2019. The drill was based on a simulated fire at Schloss Neudau.
The roof of the palace was filled with dense smoke caused by a damaged chimney in the heating system. There was a time delay before the hot flue gases ignited and caused a fire in the roof. People were also injured in the event. Some people found the escape route via the stairwell blocked and had to be rescued from the tower under the use of heavy breathing equipment. Adjacent parts of the building had to be protected from the fire spill-over.
As the responsible local fire service, the Neudau-Neudauberg fire brigade, under the direction of Commandant HBI Harald Goger, established operational command and attacked the inside of the smoke-filled stairwell with the assistance of heavy breathing equipment.The trapped people could then be rescued immediately. Furthermore, a ladder route to the tower of the palace was created by RLFA-2000 Neudau-Neudauberg, in which people were also located.
As the drills progressed, the other alerted fire brigades set up additional ladder routes required for rescuing people and secured adjacent properties from flames jumping across. To this end, extinguishing points such as hydrants and an extinguishing water tank were used. The water supply in the practice area was ensured by feeder lines.
