Due to fire

Block of flats evacuated, woman suffers smoke inhalation

Around 70 residents had to leave their home for about an hour.(Bild: Maurice Shourot)

An entire block of apartments in Messestadt had to be evacuated on Friday evening due to a fire. Around 70 residents briefly stood outside their homes on Bahnhofsstraße and were only allowed back into their own four walls after around an hour.

It took some time for the fire department to locate the source of the fire in an apartment on the second floor. The firefighters then had to break down the door as the tenants were not present. There was not much left to extinguish after that: the fire in the kitchen had already gone out again. However, quick help was needed for a dog that had been left behind and was already suffering from breathing difficulties. The four-legged friend was taken to an emergency vet.

A woman who had been staying above the apartment was also in need of medical assistance. She had suffered smoke inhalation due to the rising smoke and was taken to Dornbirn City Hospital by ambulance.

The fire department set up a fan to clear the affected apartment of smoke. However, the home is currently uninhabitable. The cause of the fire is likely to be a technical defect in a power socket.