After fire in Rohrbach: House remains inaccessible for the time being

The clouds of smoke have long since cleared. Only the chimneys that still tower into the sky between the surrounding roofs are a reminder, even from afar, of the fire that claimed a life on Wednesday night. One resident jumped out of the window and died. 14 other people had to be woken up by the fire service before they could be brought to safety. Around 250 firefighters were on duty for hours to extinguish the fire.

• Read also: One dead in fire in Rohrbach town centre

Homeless people

The consequences of the fire are still having a major impact on the Mühlviertel district capital. People who have found accommodation with friends or relatives after the fire but are looking for a new place to live are turning to the city council.

Vice-mayor Franz Hötzendorfer (ÖVP) was also involved in the organization on Friday. At the moment, he said, no one could be allowed into the building. Not even to get fresh clothes. An expert and a structural engineer have been announced for the beginning of next week, and then it will be clear whether the building is accessible. “But I’m trying to get a structural engineer to inspect the outside wall of the building,” said the vice-mayor on Friday. Perhaps then the important connecting road in the city center could be reopened.

Businesses were also affected, not by the fire, but by the water used to extinguish the fire. The restaurant “Madame Kim” in the building that burned down, of course, but also, through unfortunate circumstances, a café in the building next door, which is due to reopen in a few weeks, and a hairdresser’s shop: Decades ago, “50 or 60 years ago,” the deputy mayor confirmed when asked, the building owners were playing cards. When a room in the building that burned down went to the neighbor, a passage was built from the café. Extinguishing water has now penetrated through this and caused damage there too. The restaurateur who wants to open the café lost a restaurant in a fire just a few years ago.