Apartment on fire in Lower Austria

Florianis rescue cat from smoky hiding place

Fire! The frightened house cat was rescued by the members of the volunteer fire department and well looked after.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/FF Gmünd)

Fire alarm at 3.42 a.m. in the Waldviertel district capital of Gmünd. An apartment was on fire. The residents of the apartment building were brought to safety, only one cat was missing. The breathing apparatus unit found the frightened house cat in its hiding place and rescued it.

The kitchen and anteroom of an apartment in Gmünd were ablaze at the weekend. The emergency services were alerted at 3.42 am and 49 members of several fire departments arrived with 13 vehicles.

The owner of the apartment and his parents, who live in the adjoining wing of the apartment, were taken to hospital with suspected smoke inhalation. They informed the firefighters that a cat was missing.

Interior attack quickly took effect
Several breathing apparatus teams started the interior attack. They quickly got the flames under control and rescued the frightened house cat from its hiding place in the smoke-filled neighboring apartment. After 42 minutes, the fire was out. The cause of the fire is being investigated by the State and Federal Criminal Police Office.