Four injured

Chimney didn’t go down: rescue at the last second

Emergency doctor, paramedics and firefighters were on duty in Haag am Hausruck during the night(Bild: Matthias Lauber/laumat.at)

It was a last-second rescue. In Haag am Hausruck, a 51-year-old man was lying motionless in the cellar of a house, with smoke everywhere. Before the emergency services arrived, the wife had brought her husband, who was in mortal danger, to safety. Four people received medical treatment.

"Building fire" was the alarm for the fire department. But there was no fire in the center of Haag am Hausruck, just a lot of smoke in a former inn. And that was enough to almost claim a human life. 

Apparently, the wood-burning stove in the cellar of a house, or rather the chimney, had not drawn properly and the smoke had escaped into the building. And the 51-year-old man who had gone to check had collapsed in the smoke.

Quickly ended
The fire department combed through the entire house, and emergency doctors and paramedics were also deployed. However, by the time the firefighters arrived, the chimney was already drawing again, the injured man, who had been found and pulled outside by his wife, had been brought to safety and there was no longer any immediate danger. The helpers combed the entire building and paramedics treated a total of four people. Three of them also had to be treated in hospital.