Patient was injured

Cigarette lit in room: Patient injured

Smoking in the hospital was an "explosive mixture" in Hochegg. (symbolic image)

(Bild: Nopphon/stock.adobe.com)

"Hot night" at Hochegg University Hospital in the district of Neunkirchen. A patient there lit a cigarette despite having his oxygen bottle turned on. Unsurprisingly, this ended in fire.

The patient was on the pulmonology ward and had lit a cigarette in his room. This caused a flash fire in his hospital room in the middle of the night.

Oxygen cylinder was turned on
The patient was on oxygen at the time and had an oxygen cylinder turned on in his room. However, the patient managed to extinguish the fire on his own after the fire cracked, so that no fire alarm had to be sounded and the fire department was not called out.

Patient suffered minor burns
The man suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation in the fire. "He was only slightly injured and was treated accordingly," confirmed the Lower Austrian Health Agency (LGA). The room itself was only damaged by the fire in the area around the patient's bed.  

"At no time were other patients or employees of Hochegg University Hospital in danger," the LGA also states. Patients were regularly made aware of the smoking ban in the hospital both personally by staff and through clear signage in the building.