Top performance by the doctors

One month after the tragedy: 2 fire victims allowed home

"You will always be with us in our hearts": the site of the tragedy in front of the Stern bar has become a place of remembrance.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Two young fire victims of the tragedy on New Year's Eve in Graz are allowed to leave hospital, one woman is still in hospital. Cellar bars and nightclubs in Graz are now also being targeted.

The people of Graz were shocked on New Year's Day: 21 young people were injured, some seriously, in a fire in the Stern Bar in Sporgasse on New Year's Eve, and 21-year-old Lena R. from Mödling lost her life.

Good news from the Graz University Hospital 
One month later, however, there is finally some good news: The most seriously injured are apparently out of the woods! At the end of this week or the beginning of next week, two men in their early 20s will be allowed to leave Graz University Hospital again. This is thanks to Lars-Peter Kamolz and his plastic surgery team, who spent weeks fighting for the lives of the young patients. "We are happy and delighted for both of them. Although they have rehab ahead of them, they will be able to lead a normal life again afterwards."

Lars-Peter Kamolz (left) and his team fought for weeks to save the lives of the injured patients.(Bild: Marija Kanizaj)

This hope also exists for a woman whose skin surface is 40 percent burned. She will be operated on later on Thursday, but her prognosis is good.

Fire safety checks in 80 companies
Meanwhile, the Graz Building and Facilities Authority is using the tragedy as an opportunity to launch a "hot campaign": The focus of the campaign is on cellar bars and nightclubs in the provincial capital. "We are out and about with several teams checking the fire safety measures", reports Doris Jurschitsch, head of the authority, to the "Krone" newspaper. The checks take place unannounced, both during the day and at night.

The groups have already knocked on the doors of dozens of catering establishments - and have already made one or two complaints. "Some measures were ordered and implemented immediately," says Jurschitsch. Checks are made to see whether escape routes are blocked or marked as such, whether fire extinguishers are present and whether they have been checked. The focus is on city center venues, but also party locations in the Graz university district. For the time being, 80 establishments have been "targeted".