It was loud cries for help that a 37-year-old neighbor heard around 8 p.m. on Thursday in Eva K.’s (61) ground-floor apartment in Traun. When the man, who had a key to his neighbor’s apartment, opened the door, the flames and thick smoke were already hitting him. The young Romanian tried to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, while a neighbor from upstairs called the fire brigade.
With 30 men, the volunteer fire brigade in Traun and the BTF Feurstein were quickly on site. “The neighbor left the 61-year-old’s apartment door open, so the stairwell was full of smoke,” says operations manager Oskar Reitberger from the Traun fire brigade. Shortly after the start of the extinguishing attack, two of his comrades found the woman lifeless in her apartment. “We didn’t even let the other comrades into the apartment anymore,” says Reitberger.
A neighbor was taken to the hospital by ambulance with suspected smoke inhalation. “It’s really very tragic, I was sitting with the fire brigade commander shortly before the fire and found out immediately about the fire. My deepest sympathy goes to the victim’s family,” says Mayor Karl-Heinz Koll (VP).
The cause of the fire in the room was initially unclear. Yesterday afternoon, experts from the fire prevention agency and police officers examined Eva K’s apartment. According to the investigation, the fire may have ignited right next to the woman. The source of the ignition may have been a cigarette, police said. Third-party negligence could be ruled out. (cape)
Source: Nachrichten
