Alert Swiss sent an alarm message from Einsiedeln shortly after nine o’clock on Thursday morning. There is said to have been a fire in the area around Einsiedeln Monastery. “The fire causes heavy smoke,” the report says.
The platform recommends: “Close windows and doors and turn off ventilation and air conditioning.”
Shortly after eight o’clock, the Schwyz cantonal police operations center received the first report that smoke was coming from the heating center at the monastery in Einsiedeln.
The emergency services and the Einsiedeln fire brigade were quickly on site and determined that the smoke came from the schnitzel plant.
“There was a deflagration in the heating system, which is powered by wood chips,” said Roman Gisler, media spokesman for the Schwyz cantonal police, when asked by 20 Minutes.
In order to contain the smoke, the contents of the schnitzel plant must be cleared out and flushed in during the day. There is no danger to the population or the environment.
A reader who lives near the monastery was able to observe what was happening up close. “You don’t see any flames. The fire is obviously underground,” she says. At first she saw the Alert Swiss message and was shocked. “I live nearby and was scared for a very short time.”
But once she was there she saw that the monastery itself was not on fire.
The cause of the smoke is not yet known; the cantonal police have started an investigation.
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