Fire at the University of Art

Linz’s old town was briefly without power due to fire

The fire department was on duty in Linz at 3.20 am.(Bild: Berufsfeuerwehr Linz)

There was a fire in the basement of the University of Art in Linz in the early hours of Friday morning - a high-voltage system caught fire. As a result, a large part of the old town had to be cut off for a short time. After an hour, the fire was put out.

At 3.20 a.m. the sirens sounded in Linz: The Linz professional fire department was alerted by the fire alarm system in the University of Art. A high-voltage current system on the second basement floor had started to burn, causing heavy smoke to develop.

The firefighters entered the building wearing heavy breathing protection and were able to extinguish the flames quickly. "Due to the fire in the high-voltage area, a large part of the old town center had to be disconnected from the power grid. By de-energizing the affected power grid, it was possible to efficiently prevent the fire from spreading," said the professional fire department. 

After an hour, the fire was reported out. Due to the heavy smoke development, the building still had to be cleared of smoke afterwards.