Kindergarten evacuated

Alert level 3: Fire rages in Viennese municipal building

A fire broke out in the basement of a large municipal building in Vienna's Leopoldstadt district on Friday morning. The professional fire department issued a level 3 alert and deployed 25 emergency vehicles at midday. A kindergarten on the ground floor of the Kurt-Heller-Hof had to be evacuated due to the heavy smoke, as did several apartments.

This was reported by Gerald Schimpf, spokesman for the fire department. "Several staircases are filled with smoke." Residents should keep their windows closed. The kindergarten children - around two dozen girls and boys, another two groups were on an excursion, according to the spokesman - were initially looked after in the inner courtyard. They have since been moved to another kindergarten.

Victims supplied with oxygen on site
The professional rescue team was deployed with several rescue teams. "So far, we have had four patients to care for," reported spokesperson Andreas Huber. The victims - three men and one woman - had inhaled smoke fumes. They were given oxygen on the spot and did not have to be taken to hospital.

Traffic restrictions on site
As soon as the alarm was raised, the fire department issued a level 2 alert, which was later raised to level 3. The extinguishing work continued until midday. Traffic was restricted around the scene at Engerthstrasse 249 to 253.

Community building with 270 apartments
The Kurt-Heller-Hof is a five to eight-storey complex bordered by Handelskai to the north-east and Engerthstraße to the south-west. The municipal building with around 270 apartments was built in the early 1980s.