140 people evacuated

Major fire in Filzmoos: hotel in flames

The fire is believed to have broken out on the upper floor(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

A major fire broke out in a hotel in Filzmoos on Wednesday afternoon. The building was in flames. Five fire departments and a drone were deployed on site. Around 140 people had to be evacuated.

The devastating fire broke out on the upper floor of the building at around 3 pm. Around 100 holidaymakers and staff were evacuated to safety in time. Alternative accommodation was found for them.

A neighboring kindergarten is to serve as accommodation for the majority of the guests for the coming night. Five members of the crisis intervention team were deployed. Fortunately, there were no injuries. 

Weather challenging for the fire department
The firefighting work was hampered by a severe storm with strong gusts of wind and precipitation. As a result, the smoke spread quickly and uncontrollably, according to section fire service commander Christian Lackner.

The fire departments from Filzmoos, Eben, Altenmarkt, St. Johann and Bischofshofen were alerted and worked intensively until late into the night to get the flames under control. Post-extinguishing work continued. A drone supported the emergency services with important aerial photographs. The cause of the fire is still unclear.