Woman on vacation

Dead body found in house fire in Mühlviertel

The fire departments were able to extinguish the fire quickly, but it was too late to help the occupant

(Bild: Werner Kerschbaummayr/TEAM FOTOKERSCHI / WERNER KERSCHBAUMMAYR)

What happened in this house in Lichtenberg in the Mühlviertel? Investigators need to find out why a man died in a fire in a house on Tuesday morning. It is currently assumed that a chimney fire was the 79-year-old's undoing.

"There's a fire inside!" - the chimney sweep discovered the fire in the house in Lichtenberg in the district of Urfahr-Umgebung (Upper Austria) shortly before eight o'clock on Tuesday morning when he looked through the window.

A level two alert was issued and ten fire departments were deployed. According to initial reports, the fire was barely noticeable outside the building, inside it was burning, but the flames were already extinguishing due to a lack of oxygen.

Emergency doctor could do nothing more
The helpers, who advanced with heavy breathing protection, were able to quickly bring the fire under control and found the occupant (79). Two ambulances and the emergency doctor from the Red Cross were deployed, but it was too late to help the resident. It was initially unclear whether the Mühlviertler's partner was still in the house. However, it turned out that she was currently on vacation in Tyrol. 

Fire investigators in action
Fire investigators must now clarify how the fire started, whether it was an accident while heating the house or a chimney fire, as was initially suspected, or whether something else was behind it.