Fire leaves Hopfgarten apartment uninhabitable

A fire left an apartment uninhabitable in Hopfgarten im Brixental in Tyrol’s Kitzbühel district overnight into Sunday, ORF Tirol reported. A tumble dryer on the top floor apparently caught fire because of a technical defect.

The apartment’s owner noticed smoke at about 4 a.m. and fled to a neighbour, who alerted emergency services. The fire broke out in a storage room beneath the roof slope and completely destroyed it.

The Hopfgarten volunteer fire brigade responded with 45 firefighters. Firefighters from Söll also attended with an aerial ladder, while the St. Johann fire brigade was called in to deliver replacement breathing apparatus cylinders.

Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to the roof or other rooms. The operation ended shortly before 7 a.m.

The apartment was heavily covered in soot and cannot currently be occupied. The resident is staying with her family. The other apartments in the building were not affected, the incident commander said.