Hot fat on the stove

Sleeping tenant rescued from kitchen fire

In Kronstorf, a sleeping tenant was rescued from a kitchen fire on Sunday afternoon.

(Bild: Team fotokerschi.at/Taras Panchuk)

A 46-year-old landlord in Kronstorf probably saved his life on Sunday. A 38-year-old Slovenian had forgotten that he was heating a pot of fat on the electric stove and went to sleep. The landlord noticed the smoke and immediately ran into the unlocked apartment.

A police patrol was called to an apartment fire in Kronstorf at around 3.45 pm on Sunday. When the police arrived, the Kronstorf fire brigade was already on site with three vehicles and 22 people. A vehicle from the Hargelsberg fire brigade with seven people was also alerted. The fire was quickly extinguished, preventing it from spreading further.

Apartment was unlocked
Investigations revealed that the 38-year-old Slovenian tenant was asleep in the apartment and had forgotten that he was heating a pot of fat/oil on the electric stove. The 46-year-old apartment owner was carrying out work in the cellar at the time and noticed smoke coming from the 38-year-old's apartment. He immediately ran to the upper floor and entered the unlocked apartment.

Hot oil splashed around
There he noticed that the heated oil was splashing around in the kitchen. He immediately switched off the stove and searched for the tenant. He found him asleep in the bedroom. He took the man outside and tried to extinguish the fire with a powder extinguisher, but was unsuccessful. He was assisted by his sister-in-law. Due to the heavy smoke, the 46-year-old stopped trying to extinguish the fire and also went outside.

Taken to hospital
The tenant, the owner and his sister-in-law were taken to the Pyhrn-Eisenwurzen Hospital in Steyr by ambulance on suspicion of smoke inhalation.