Thick clouds of smoke could be seen in Wetzelsdorf and Straßgang on Saturday evening around 8 p.m.: Many emergency calls reported to the fire alarm center of the Graz professional fire brigade that flames and fire smoke were coming from a residential building on Straßganger Straße.
Seven emergency vehicles from the professional fire brigade were immediately sent to the scene. There, in a house with a total of four residential units, the emergency services found an extensive room fire in a ground floor apartment. The fire had already spread through burst windows to the wooden facade of the building, which was completely smoky.
The resident of the affected apartment was able to escape independently and was treated by the rescue service. The occupants of the second apartment on the ground floor had already left the house by this time and were not injured.
Woman fell asleep with cigarette
The apartment belonged to a 63-year-old woman who later told police she fell asleep while smoking a cigarette. The woman was taken to LKH West for clarification on suspicion of smoke inhalation.
The fire brigade meanwhile fought the fire from inside and outside. In the house, two locked apartment doors had to be opened by force in order to be able to check the apartments for any endangered residents – but nobody was found. At the same time, the smoke had to be removed from the completely smoky house with overpressure ventilation so that the emergency services could get an overview.
The firefighting had a quick effect, “fire out” could already be given at 8.35 p.m., the spread of the fire on the roof structure was prevented. Subsequent extinguishing and smoke extraction work was carried out until after 10 p.m., and the wooden gable of the house was also opened.
The property damage caused by the fire is significant. The Graz professional fire brigade was deployed with 36 men and nine vehicles.
