Investigation underway

Building burns for the second time in a year

The outbuilding was on fire.(Bild: Laumat.at)

Three fire departments were called out to Vorchdorf at 3.30 a.m. on Wednesday. The outbuilding of a detached house was on fire. The family was rescued from the house. However, as there had already been a fire there a year ago, arson is now suspected. 

Shortly before 3.30 a.m., a fire broke out in the outbuilding of a detached house in Vorchdorf for unknown reasons. A 44-year-old local resident called the fire department. When the first emergency vehicle arrived at the scene of the fire a few minutes later, the outbuilding, in which mainly highly flammable materials were stored, was already fully engulfed in flames.

Everything had to happen very quickly
As the house is located in a densely built-up residential area, the fire department had to act quickly to prevent further damage to the surrounding buildings. The homeowners - a 76-year-old man and his wife (66) - were brought to safety by the fire department and are unharmed. The 33-year-old son was able to bring himself to safety.

Fire investigators from the Upper Austrian State Office of Criminal Investigation are currently investigating the scene of the fire together with the fire prevention authority in order to get to the bottom of the cause of the fire. This is because there was already a fire in the outbuilding in August last year, when firewood stored in the outbuilding caught fire, according to the emergency services.