Fire department called out

Burnt food and liquid oxygen in the morning

The main fire station had already been called out to this address a week ago.

(Bild: HFW Villach)

The public holiday started with a visit to an "old friend" and an operation due to an increased fire risk for the Villach main fire station.

The smell of burning and the sound of smoke alarms set off alarm bells for some worried residents of an apartment building in Villach's Völkendorf district. "We received the report shortly before 2.30am. The address was already known, as the fire department had already had to respond there a week ago," explains Chief Fire Inspector Martin Regenfelder from Villach main fire station. "The alarm was raised for the Villach fire brigade, the Judendorf fire brigade and the local Völkendorf fire brigade."

When the Villach fire brigade arrived at the same time as the commander of the Völkendorf fire brigade, it turned out that it was actually the same apartment again. "It had to be assumed that there were still people behind the locked door. There was no response to the knocking on the door," says Regenfelder, describing the situation. "The apartment was opened using hydraulic door opening tools, and the tenant was found by the breathing protection team from our station and taken outside."

This pan triggered the smoke alarm.

(Bild: HFW Villach)

While the woman was handed over to the emergency services, the firefighters set about removing the charred remains of the food - the cause of the smoke - and using a high-performance fan to blow the smoke out of the apartment. The operation was completed after around an hour.

Flüssiger Sauerstoff trat unkontrolliert aus

The day had already dawned when, almost four hours later, another report was received by the Villach HFW. "The Samaritans reported that a home oxygen unit was defective in a residential building and that liquid oxygen had escaped," reports Chief Fire Officer Alexander Scharf. "After a brief investigation, the emergency services from the Villach fire brigade, the Pogöriach fire brigade and the Fellach fire brigade were able to confirm that liquid oxygen was escaping in an uncontrolled manner. A breathing apparatus unit used a multi-gas detector to detect an increased concentration, which is a fire hazard."

The oxygen escaped from this device.

(Bild: HFW Villach)

The occupant had already been removed from the danger zone by the emergency services. The fire department finally took the device, which can be used to supply a patient with concentrated oxygen, outside and informed the manufacturer.