Loud beeping

Smoke alarms saved lives in two cases

Head of operations Martin Mairhofer and commander Jürgen Penkner (right) from the Treffling fire brigade with the smoke detector.(Bild: FF Schweinbach)

In two night-time fires in Upper Austria, a loud beeping alarm ensured a timely rescue. In one case, a drunk 21-year-old fell asleep while cooking pasta and his neighbor was woken by the alarm. In Bad Hall, a battery fire broke out in the cellar.

"And even if we repeat ourselves and it has already been said a thousand times: home smoke alarms save lives," the Treffling fire brigade pointed out after the incident. On Wednesday night, four fire brigades were called to a home on the Linzerberg in Gallneukirchen. An attentive woman became aware of the loud beeping of the smoke alarm in the neighboring apartment and alerted the emergency services.

Door forced open
"We heard the loud beeping ourselves on site and had to force open the locked door," explains commander Jürgen Penkner. The 21-year-old resident had probably fallen asleep while cooking pasta under the influence of alcohol and did not hear the alarm. The burnt cooking residue was extinguished and the apartment was ventilated. A smoke alarm also saved a family in Bad Hall. A fire had also broken out in the cellar there during the night, and those affected, who were already asleep, were able to escape in time.