In retirement home

Fire alarm: Pensioner lying in smoke-filled room

A fire broke out in a care home in Villach on Sunday evening (symbolic image).(Bild: Freiwillige Feuerwehr Siebenbrünn-Riegersdorf )

Major operation in Villach: The fire department had to respond to a fire in a retirement home. A pensioner was in danger. 

The fire alarm system of a nursing home in Villach sounded the alarm at the fire department control center shortly after 7.30 pm on Sunday. The Villach main fire station set off immediately. "Heavy smoke could already be seen in the corridor," says Martin Regenfelder, deputy commander of the Villach fire brigade.

Woman lying in a smoke-filled room
However, the smoke was not triggered in the corridor, but in a room. "In the room of a bedridden pensioner," adds the firefighter. She was immediately taken out of the completely smoke-filled room by the staff and given first aid by the Red Cross. 

A toxic concentration of carbon monoxide had already developed in the room. "The trigger was a plastic that was lying on a hotplate that was switched on," says Regenfelder. The toxic smoke was blown out of the room using high-performance electric fans. Regenfelder concludes: "The fire alarm probably prevented the worst from happening!"