Defect ruled out

Shock for residents: house on fire in the middle of the night

The local fire department battled the flames.(Bild: ZOOM Tirol)

Fire alarm on Tuesday night in the Tyrolean lowlands: a house went up in flames in Jenbach in the district of Schwaz. Fortunately, the residents were able to get to safety in time. No one was injured. A technical defect has been ruled out. The operation presented the Florianis with challenges.

The alarm was raised at around 1.15 am. "Balcony fire in apartment building" was the text sent out by the Tyrol control center. "When the emergency services arrived on site, the building was already in flames," according to the police.

We were also informed in the initial report that a person was trapped in the building. However, this person had already been evacuated on arrival and taken out of the danger zone.

Alexander Aschenwald, FF-Kommandant Jenbach

The fire is believed to have started in the balcony area and spread from there to the roof truss. This proved to be difficult for the emergency services, as fire brigade commander Alexander Aschenwald explained to the "Krone" newspaper: "The difficulty behind the operation was that all the technology was installed there, including the boiler."

All residents safe
Luckily, all the residents who were in the house at the time the fire broke out were able to get outside to safety in time. According to Aschenwald, this may not have been the case at the beginning: "In addition, we were informed in the initial report that one person was also trapped in the building. However, this person had already been evacuated and taken out of the danger zone by the time we arrived."

Investigating the cause of the fire
Around 30 firefighters from the Jenbach volunteer fire department were on site with six vehicles. They battled the flames and were finally able to bring the situation under control and extinguish the fire. The cause has not yet been fully clarified. However, the police assume that there was no technical defect: "According to current investigations, we assume that there is a high probability of negligence," says press spokesman Bernhard Gruber.

However, the damage is likely to be enormous. The building is currently uninhabitable. Four people are affected.