Grandma in hospital

Fairy lights under suspicion as “arsonist”

Fairy lights are simply part of the Christmas season - in Braunau, however, a fire may have broken out due to a technical defect (symbolic image)(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

A string of lights is suspected of being the "arsonist" in Braunau. On Sunday morning, there was a fire on the balcony of a detached house where a 77-year-old woman and her family live. Firefighting efforts were unsuccessful and the grandmother was taken to hospital with suspected smoke inhalation.

The 77-year-old woman from Braunau was startled by the smell of smoke at around 6.30 a.m. on Sunday morning. And the smoke was coming from the balcony on the second floor of the terraced house, where a fire was blazing.

Family still asleep
The grandmother woke her family, who were still asleep, and a 53-year-old man tried to put out the fire with a blanket and a fire extinguisher, but was unsuccessful. His 48-year-old wife then made an emergency call and also informed her 14-year-old son.

Four fire departments with 82 helpers arrived and were able to quickly extinguish the fully engulfed flower bush. The occupants of the house had already escaped outside, while the 77-year-old woman was taken to hospital for safety reasons as she had inhaled smoke fumes.

"Have unplugged the fairy lights"
Investigations by the police revealed that there had been problems with the fairy lights on the balcony the day before. However, the family had switched them off and disconnected them from the power supply. It is now being investigated whether there was already a smouldering fire that flared up in the morning or whether there was another reason for the fire.