Several injured after a house fire in St. Pölten

According to the helpers, 45 people were rescued from the building. Nine people suffered from smoke inhalation and were therefore considered injured, according to a request from the state police headquarters. The flames that broke out in the basement were quickly brought under control. Research into the causes has already begun.

The emergency services were alerted at around 5 a.m. by an emergency call from a resident. “An extensive basement fire with heavy smoke that had already moved into the stairwells” – this was the picture the helpers saw, according to a release from the St. Pölten-Stadt volunteer fire department. Several residents were already outside.

“Fire out” after three hours

“The alerted fire brigades immediately began rescuing people using heavy respiratory protection. The residents of the house, who were of course still in their beds at the time, were woken up and escorted outside,” the incident was described. Due to the heavy smoke in the stairwell, several people had to be fitted with special fire escape hoods.

At the same time, respiratory protection teams started the interior attack, which had to be briefly interrupted due to massive heat build-up. An external attack carried out through the windows finally improved the situation. After around three hours it was said “fire out”. According to the fire department, four people were looked after by the rescue team on the spot, including one of the helpers.

Part of the house not habitable

Investigation into the cause was underway on Sunday. According to police, a district fire investigator was on scene. The Lower Austria State Criminal Police Office is also involved.

The damage caused is likely to be considerable, parts of the property are not habitable. Most of the affected people found temporary shelter with relatives or friends, ORF Lower Austria reported. Two families were therefore accommodated in a St. Pölten hotel.

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