Hours-Long Operation

Townhouses and Five Cars Destroyed in Major Fire

The townhouses, comprising a total of four residential units, were ablaze.(Bild: FF Obsteig)

Fire alarm and major emergency response in the Tyrolean Oberland early Friday morning: In Obsteig (Imst district), two townhouses and five cars went up in flames. Eight fire departments battled the inferno for hours—five firefighters sustained injuries. The residents were sheltered with friends or at a hotel. The cause is still completely unclear.

The devastating fire broke out in “Seepark Obsteig”—a neighborhood below the church. Around 11:30 p.m., the large-scale operation was coordinated via the Tyrol Emergency Control Center. No fewer than eight fire departments—Obsteig, Mieming, Mötz, Silz, Rietz, Telfs, Nassereith, and Imst—responded.

For hours, emergency responders battled the inferno.(Bild: FF Obsteig)

All Residents Safe
“When we arrived, two townhouses and five cars were already fully engulfed in flames,” Obsteig Fire Chief and Incident Commander Christian Weiss described in an interview with the “Krone.” First, the emergency crews made sure that no one was left inside the buildings. “Fortunately, all residents had already managed to get to safety.”

The residents were then taken in by relatives, friends, and at a nearby hotel. 

Einsatzleiter Christian Weiss

None of the residents were injured—they were cared for by emergency medical services and a crisis intervention team. “They were then taken to the homes of relatives and acquaintances and to a nearby hotel,” Weiss continued.

Further Spread Prevented
For the dozens of firefighters, the task was to battle the inferno. “First and foremost, we focused on preventing the flames from spreading to other buildings,” explained the incident commander. This was achieved—in part thanks to the turntable ladders from Telfs and Silz.

Solar Panel System Complicated Roof Opening
The operation lasted several hours. Among other things, the roof had to be opened. Solar panels installed there had complicated the operation—some of them had to be removed first. It wasn’t until around 5 a.m. that the “fire out” declaration was made. A fire watch followed afterward.

Five firefighters sustained minor injuries
According to Weiss, a total of five firefighters sustained minor injuries during the large-scale operation. Two suffered burns to their hands—three had to be taken to the hospital in Zams as a precaution due to suspected smoke inhalation. However, all have since been discharged from the hospital and are doing well.