Apartments evacuated

Resident had to go to hospital after cellar fire

Dense smoke in the stairwell - the building had to be ventilated.(Bild: FF Gaaden)

Dramatic moments for the residents of an apartment building in Gaaden, district of Mödling: the smell of burning drifted into the apartments at around 2.30 am and the stairwell was already completely filled with smoke. The fire department evacuated the building and one tenant even had to go to hospital. 

The tenants of a residential complex in Babenbergergasse in Gaaden were woken from their sleep in the middle of the night today. The fire department was alerted because the smell of burning was already drifting through the house in thick clouds of smoke. While a breathing apparatus unit explored the building to find the source of the fire, the other firefighters began to evacuate the house.

Fortunately, the fire in the basement was discovered in time. If the fire had spread, it could have been a disaster.(Bild: FF Gaaden)

Tub of glowing ash
In the cellar, the firefighters finally came across a plastic tub filled with still glowing ash. From there, the smoke had spread throughout the house. The tub was taken outside and extinguished, after which the building was ventilated.

"It is fortunate that the fire was discovered in time and therefore could not spread any further," explained the incident commander. However, one resident had to be taken to hospital by the ambulance service.