Major operation in Koblach

Roof truss was ravaged by flames

The damage caused is immense and the house will probably be uninhabitable for a long time.(Bild: Maurice Shourot)

A house in Koblach was badly damaged by fire on Friday afternoon. The fire had started in an adjacent shed and the flames then spread to the house.

When the Floriani firefighters arrived at the scene, the shed was already ablaze. Despite a large contingent of 166 firefighters and 13 vehicles, it was not possible to prevent the fire from spreading to the roof truss of the directly adjacent residential building.

The extinguishing work proved to be extremely challenging: among other things, the Florianis had to remove the majority of the roof tiles in order to get the flames under control. In the end, however, they brought the fire under control. Two firefighters had to be taken to Hohenems Hospital with circulatory problems and suspected smoke inhalation, but fortunately they were released shortly afterwards.

None of the three residents were in danger: Two were out of the house at the time of the fire, the third had noticed the fire early. According to his statement, several electronic gardening tools and an e-bike were stored in the shed - so it is quite possible that a technical defect caused the fire.