Fire in Vienna apartment sends nine people for medical treatment

A fire of undetermined origin broke out on the third floor of a residential building in Schüttelstraße in Vienna’s Leopoldstadt district overnight into Sunday, ORF reported. Nine people required medical attention, four of whom were taken to hospital.

When firefighters arrived, flames were coming from a window facing the building’s courtyard. The Vienna professional fire brigade described the incident as an extensive apartment fire. The stairwell was heavily smoke-filled from the third floor upwards.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus ran a hose through the stairwell to the apartment. A second hose was used from outside to prevent the fire spreading to the apartment above.

Dense smoke blocked the stairwell escape route for several residents. The occupant of the burning apartment reached safety in time. Other residents attracted attention from their windows or fled to balconies.

Firefighters searched the stairwell and neighbouring apartments and found one injured person, whom they brought outside. Two residents were rescued using an aerial ladder, while a fourth was brought to safety through the stairwell wearing an escape filter mask.

The fire was extinguished after a short time, and the operation ended at about 12.30 a.m. Firefighters found and removed a medical oxygen tank from the apartment. The brigade deployed nine vehicles and 41 personnel.

The Vienna State Criminal Police Office’s fire investigation unit took over the investigation into the cause of the fire.