120 firefighters were on duty in Lauffen near Bad Ischl (Gmunden district) on Thursday afternoon. Around 3:30 p.m., a fire broke out in the kitchen of a tavern. Alert level two was declared, and seven fire departments from the area approached with 18 vehicles.
Two people were brought to safety from the apartments next to and above the dining room before respiratory protection teams advanced to the seat of the fire. The fire had spread through the fume hood in the wooden false ceiling. Head of operations Hannes Stibl from the main fire station in Bad Ischl also experienced anxious minutes, as he says: “The danger of igniting was high and would have had catastrophic consequences”.
In the apartment above the kitchen, the floor was cut open using special saws. The respiratory protection teams also began to open the ceiling from the kitchen. Only then could the fire be completely extinguished. The intervention of the fire brigade prevented the flames from spreading, but the property damage is likely to be considerable.
Around 6 p.m., the emergency services from the Bad Ischl main fire station, the Pfandl and Jainzen volunteer fire departments, and the Perneck, Reiterndorf and Rettenbach-Steinfeld-Hinterstein fire stations were able to move back in. The Lauffen volunteer fire brigade will be present as a fire watch at the scene until late in the evening, according to the emergency services.
Source: Nachrichten
