Arson attack on the asylum quarters in Linz

“Prefabricated and stored wooden elements, such as those used to build prefabricated houses, were on fire on the construction site,” says Roland Hieslmayr, head of operations for the Linz professional fire brigade. During the night, the fire fueled the political discussion about the refugee quarters that the Samaritan Association is building on behalf of the state.

The fire brigade was called at half past six in the evening. Thanks to the rapid deployment, the burning components could be quickly extinguished before the fire spread further. “After the components had been extinguished, the closely packed wooden elements were rearranged to reach hidden embers,” reports the fire brigade. After about an hour and a half, the mission was over. The cause of the fire is currently being investigated by the police. She suspects arson. No further details are known at this time, investigations are ongoing.

As reported in the OÖN, the asylum accommodation is being built opposite the “Gasthaus zum Hochofen” along the railway tracks. The project has caused a lot of excitement in the city – from demanding a fairer distribution in the country to outright rejection. Even if he himself was against the district, Linz SP mayor Klaus Luger condemned “any radicalization and violence”. The perpetrators and their motives are still unknown. Luger: “It can be assumed that there is a connection with the accommodation of asylum seekers in Lunzerstrasse.” For the Linz mayor, who has spoken out in several statements against further refugee quarters in Linz because the city compared to other districts The fire attack shows one thing very clearly: “After years of the pandemic and in the middle of times of multiple crises, the topic of asylum is more emotional than ever. That is why the federal government and above all the ÖVP-FPÖ state government are all the more called upon to finally deal sensitively with new refugee quarters and, above all, to seek dialogue with the local population,” says Luger.