Night-time alarm

Fire in demolition building: man with smoke inhalation

The fire broke out in this condemned building during the night.

(Bild: Johanna Birbaumer)

Fire alarm on Friday night in the Wilten district of Innsbruck: A fire broke out in the basement of a condemned building for reasons that are currently unknown. Men who had been living in the building, which was actually empty, for weeks were brought to safety by the emergency services. One person had to be taken to hospital.

The emergency services were alerted in the middle of the night. A fire had suddenly broken out in the basement of the normally empty condemned building in Wilten. It is still completely unclear why.

Police: "No homeless people"
It is certain that four men between the ages of 20 and 36 had been staying in the building regularly for several weeks. However, they were not homeless because all four people had valid residential addresses, the police said in response to an inquiry from "Krone".

While one person was asleep in a room, the three awake men heard crackling noises.

Die Polizei

The quartet was on the second floor of the house at around 2 a.m. "While one person was asleep in a room, the three men who were awake heard crackling noises. They went to the basement, from where they could already see flames", according to the investigators.

Fire department brought the men to safety
The men tried to extinguish the fire. But to no avail. The Innsbruck professional fire department and the Wilten volunteer fire department brought the four people to safety and then began extinguishing the fire. The situation was quickly brought under control.

According to the police, one man had to be taken to Innsbruck Hospital with suspected smoke inhalation. Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.