Dramatic scenes took place in the Vorarlberg community of Koblach during the night from Friday to Saturday. After a fire broke out in a single-family home, a 13-year-old was able to escape the building by himself while his mother, sister and three family dogs were trapped inside.
On Friday evening at 10:34 p.m., the Götzis police station was informed by the Vorarlberg State Control Center about a fire in a residential building. The first information: there are said to be two more people in the building. The police patrol arrived at the scene of the fire at 10:37 p.m., where they saw a 13-year-old standing near the first floor bedroom window. The girl had discovered the fire earlier and warned her brother of the same age by telephone.
Escaping via the stairs was already impossible
This allowed him to still leave the house, while it was already impossible for the teenager to escape via the heavily smoke-filled stairwell. The first contact with the mother, who was probably also on the top floor of the house, could not be established. The Koblach fire brigade, which arrived with 35 Florianis, was able to detect a fire in the living room on the ground floor, making it impossible to enter the house for the time being.
Mother rescued by special police unit
The 13-year-old was eventually rescued from the building by family members present with the help of a table. A little later, the children’s mother also showed up at her bedroom window on the first floor. She was literally rescued at the last minute through a window from the already heavily smoky house by the officers of the Vorarlberg Rapid Reaction Forces Police Readiness Unit, who had now arrived, with the help of a ladder they brought with them.
Family in hospital – dogs taken to vet clinic
The mother suffered severe smoke poisoning and her two children suffered mild smoke poisoning. All three were admitted to Feldkirch State Hospital. The emergency room officers in Feldkirch were also examined for possible smoke poisoning, but are doing well under the circumstances. The fire brigade was eventually able to quickly extinguish the fire in the living room and also rescue the three family dogs from the house. The dogs were admitted to a veterinary clinic.
The National Criminal Investigation Department is investigating
Due to the heat and strong smoke gases, all furniture in the house was damaged or destroyed. According to the police, the building is uninhabitable. The cause of the fire is still completely unclear; the investigation is conducted by the State Criminal Investigation Department.
Source: Krone
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