One woman injured

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A fire broke out in a kitchen in Villach on Wednesday evening: When melting wax.(Bild: feuerwehr-villach.at HFW Villach)

A woman from Villach had melted wax, which caught fire. Three fire departments responded. The woman had to be taken to hospital.

Shortly before 6.30 p.m. on Wednesday, an emergency call reached the Villach fire control center: "Flames and smoke are visible from a window on the third floor of an apartment building in the Unterer Fellach district."

The Villach main fire station, the Pogöriach fire brigade and the local Fellach fire brigade were immediately alerted with the keyword "apartment fire".

The first emergency services discovered a fire in a kitchen. "The occupant escaped from the apartment in time and was able to close the door to the source of the fire to prevent the smoke from spreading further," reports Martin Regenfelder, deputy commander of the Villach main fire station.

Flames were shooting out of the pan in which wax had been melted.(Bild: feuerwehr-villach.at HFW Villach)

Fire quickly extinguished
A breathing apparatus unit from the main fire station was able to quickly bring the situation in the kitchen under control and extinguish the fire, which had broken out in a pan of melted candle wax.

A thermal imaging camera was used to check the interior for embers. An electric high-performance fan was used to clear the apartment of smoke. 

Tenant injured
The tenant was taken to Villach Regional Hospital by the Red Cross and the emergency doctor with injuries of indeterminate severity. "Other residents or animals were not injured and did not have to be evacuated," said OBI Regenfelder.

The woman's swift action prevented anything worse from happening. The fire was confined to the outbreak area. In addition to the fire department, the Red Cross with ambulance and emergency doctor as well as the police were also deployed.