Fire alarm in Vienna

Mysterious cause of fire: chaos in emergency accommodation

On Friday, a fire broke out at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Vienna. Numerous emergency services were deployed to extinguish the fire.(Bild: Peter Stadlmüller)

On Friday, the Vienna fire department and police were called to a large-scale operation at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Vienna-Döbling. According to the fire department, a garbage bin next to the shelter caught fire, causing the flames to spread to the façade. It is not yet clear whether the fire was started deliberately.

"The emergency services were on the scene quickly. The operation was over after around 15 minutes," explained Gerald Schimpf, spokesperson for the Vienna Fire Brigade, to krone.at. According to Schimpf, the cause of the fire or possible arson could not yet be clarified and is now the subject of investigations.

Flames also reached the façade
As the fire department confirmed on Friday afternoon, a garbage container next to the emergency accommodation caught fire, causing the flames to spread to the front of the home. Heavy smoke was clearly visible over a long distance.

A garbage container caught fire next to the emergency shelter.(Bild: Peter Stadlmüller)

Heavy smoke could be seen.(Bild: Michael Pichler )

The Vienna police and numerous members of the Vienna fire department were on site to extinguish the fire. No information is yet available on the extent of the damage or possible injuries.