Lower Austria, the state that surrounds Vienna (pop. 1,729,541 on January 1, 2026), has more fire brigades than any other Austrian state: 1,676 in 2025, about a third of the national total, and every one of them is volunteer or company-run. More than 105,000 members answered 68,058 call-outs in 2025. The brigades belong to 21 fire districts under the Lower Austrian Fire Brigade Association in Tulln. There is no professional fire brigade. Fire calls go to the state warning center or a district alarm center. In an emergency, dial 122 (fire) or 112.
Lower Austrian Fire Brigade Association office (non-emergency)
+43 57122 33100- NÖ Landesfeuerwehrverband, Langenlebarner Straße 108, 3430 Tulln, Austria
- noe122.at (state association)
- State warning center (LWZ): +43 2742 9005 17374 · Langenlebarner Straße 106, 3430 Tulln an der Donau
- Emergency: fire 122 · ambulance 144 · EU emergency number 112
How Fire Protection Is Organized in Lower Austria
None of Austria's six professional brigades (Berufsfeuerwehr) is in Lower Austria. In 2025 it had 1,594 Freiwillige Feuerwehren (volunteer fire brigades), nine fewer than a year earlier, plus company brigades (Betriebsfeuerwehren); the association lists 84. All belong to the Niederösterreichischer Landesfeuerwehrverband (NÖ LFV) in Tulln. Brigades form sections (Abschnitte) under a Bezirksfeuerwehrkommando (district fire command): 21 fire districts, one per political district plus Klosterneuburg. The state fire school in Tulln (NÖ Feuerwehr- und Sicherheitszentrum) ran 19,000 training places in 2025, with 25,500 more in the districts.
Dispatch: the Landeswarnzentrale (LWZ, state warning center) in Tulln answers 122 for Bruck an der Leitha, Gmünd, Hollabrunn, Horn, Tulln, Waidhofen an der Thaya and Zwettl; other districts use their own Bezirksalarmzentralen (district alarm centers).
Fire Brigades by District
| District | District fire command | Brigades | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amstetten | Amstetten | 89 (incl. Waidhofen/Ybbs) | — |
| Baden | Baden | Not published | — |
| Bruck an der Leitha | Bruck an der Leitha | Not published | — |
| Gänserndorf | Gänserndorf | Not published | bfkdo-gf.at |
| Gmünd | Gmünd | Not published | — |
| Hollabrunn | Hollabrunn | Not published | feuerwehren-hl.at |
| Horn | Horn | Not published | — |
| Korneuburg | Korneuburg | Not published | — |
| Krems | Krems | Not published | — |
| Krems an der Donau (city) | Krems | In Krems | — |
| Lilienfeld | Lilienfeld | Not published | — |
| Melk | Melk | Not published | — |
| Mistelbach | Mistelbach | Not published | bfkdo-mistelbach.at |
| Mödling | Mödling | Not published | bfkdo-moedling.at |
| Neunkirchen | Neunkirchen | Not published | bfkdo-neunkirchen.at |
| St. Pölten | St. Pölten | Not published | bfkdo-stpoelten.at |
| St. Pölten (city) | St. Pölten (St. Pölten-Stadt section) | In St. Pölten | — |
| Scheibbs | Scheibbs | Not published | — |
| Tulln | Tulln; Klosterneuburg | 98 in Tulln (incl. 8 company) | bfkdo-tulln.at |
| Waidhofen an der Thaya | Waidhofen an der Thaya | Not published | — |
| Waidhofen an der Ybbs (city) | Amstetten (Waidhofen-Stadt section) | In Amstetten | — |
| Wiener Neustadt | Wiener Neustadt | Not published | bfkdo-wiener-neustadt.at |
| Wiener Neustadt (city) | Wiener Neustadt (city section) | In Wiener Neustadt | — |
| Zwettl | Zwettl | 102 (incl. 1 company) | bfk.zwettl.at |
| Lower Austria | State association (21 fire districts) | 1,676 (2025) | noe122.at |
No official per-district list is online; counts are from Tulln and Zwettl command pages (2026) and a January 2024 Amstetten report. 1,594 volunteer plus 84 company brigades make 1,678, two more than the federal 1,676. Krems city follows the 21-district structure.
Special Units & Capabilities
- Disaster relief (Katastrophenhilfsdienst, KHD): 20 district units plus two state units, about 5,800 members; deployed in the 2002 and 2013 floods and abroad in 2014.
- Water service: 32 work boats, 30 fire rescue boats and 7 shallow-water boats.
- Hazmat: basic equipment in every district, specialized base brigades for larger incidents.
- Forest firefighting: a special service since 2020, with four base groups.
- Also: air operations, diving, blasting and radiation protection.
- Disaster relief (KHD)
- Water service
- Hazmat
- Forest firefighting
- Diving
Estimated Response Time
Statewide, 1,594 volunteer brigades share 19,180.1 km², so the average distance to the nearest station is r ≈ √(19,180.1 ÷ (1,594 × π)) ≈ 2.0 km (1.2 mi). At about 90 residents per km² the state is mostly rural, and volunteers must first reach the station, so we use the volunteer column of our baseline table.
| Radius | Lower Austria (volunteer) |
|---|---|
| ≤ 2.4 km | 8–12 min |
| 2.4–4.8 km | 10–14 min |
| 4.8–9.7 km | 12–18 min |
| > 9.7 km | 18+ min |
Typical expectation: about 8–12 minutes in towns and villages, about 10–14 minutes for farms, forests and mountain valleys.
Estimated Fire Control Time
| Fire size | Example | Indicative time |
|---|---|---|
| Small | Grass patch, dumpster, small vehicle | 5–20 min |
| Medium | Room-and-contents, car fully involved | 15–45 min |
| Large | Whole house, commercial unit | 45–120 min |
| Major | Multi-alarm, industrial or forest fire | 2–12+ hours |
Fire call-outs rose about 16% in 2025 to 8,410, driven by device batteries and field and forest fires. Forest fires in steep terrain take longer, toward the upper end of each range.
Call-outs & Statistics
- 2025: 68,058 call-outs (8,410 fires, 38,278 technical, 21,370 other), about 37% fewer than in flood-hit 2024.
- 2025: 105,046 members (11,839 women, 7,828 youth), about 7.5 million volunteer hours.
- December 2024: 105,285 members, 77,164 of them active.
- Austria-wide in 2025: 4,752 brigades (4,438 volunteer, 308 company, 6 professional), 357,187 members, 254,598 call-outs.
Outdoor burning and forest fires: The federal Clean Air Act (Bundesluftreinhaltegesetz) generally bans burning garden and farm waste in the open, with narrow exceptions such as customary bonfires. In dry periods the district authority or statutory city can issue a forest-fire ordinance (Waldbrandverordnung) banning fire and smoking near forests. Ask your Gemeinde before burning anything.
Neighboring States & Countries
- Vienna (enclave)
- Upper Austria
- Styria
- Burgenland
- Czech Republic
- Slovakia
FAQ
What is the non-emergency number for the fire service in Lower Austria?
The Lower Austrian Fire Brigade Association in Tulln: +43 57122 33100. In an emergency, dial 122 or 112.
How many fire brigades are in Lower Austria?
1,676 in 2025, the most of any Austrian state, in 21 fire districts.
Does Lower Austria have a professional fire brigade?
No. All brigades are volunteer or company brigades.
How fast does the fire brigade respond in Lower Austria?
About 8–12 minutes in towns and villages, including volunteer turnout, and about 10–14 minutes for outlying areas.
Can I burn garden waste in Lower Austria?
Generally no. Federal law bans open burning of plant material, with narrow exceptions. Ask your municipality first.
Last verified:
- NÖ Landesfeuerwehrverband: contact, organization (Dec 2024)
- NÖ LFV services: KHD, water, hazmat, forest fires
- Land Niederösterreich — State warning center (LWZ)
- Land Niederösterreich — Fire brigade report 2025 (Feb 19, 2026)
- District fire command websites (brigades, sections), linked in the table
- Österreichischer Bundesfeuerwehrverband — Statistics 2025
- Statistik Austria — Population Jan 1, 2026 (final)
- RIS — Bundesluftreinhaltegesetz
- VIENNA.AT (APA) — Lower Austria fire brigade figures 2025
- Tips — Amstetten District brigades (Jan 2024)
- Wikipedia: Niederösterreich (area, Jan 1, 2024), NÖ Landesfeuerwehrverband (21 fire districts)