Advent wreath in flames: 43 guests had to be evacuated from a hotel in Piesendorf and temporarily housed in the fire station. It is thanks to one employee and 60 firefighters that nothing more happened. The next morning the guests had breakfast again at the hotel.
An idyllic start to Christmas Eve looks different. 43 guests of the Pinzgauer Hotel Tauernhex had to be evacuated in the middle of the night on December 24. What had happened?
An Advent wreath began to burn in the foyer. A hotel employee was sleeping on the job, heard the fire alarm, alerted the fire brigade and began to extinguish the wreath. Due to the heavy smoke, guests could only be evacuated via terraces and balconies. Fortunately, no one was injured – thanks to the quick response of the fire brigades from Piesendorf and Kaprun.
Hotel manager: “Big compliments to the Piesendorf fire brigade”
From about 2 a.m., 60 men and eleven fire engines were in action. The Red Cross, the police, the district captain and the disaster service also had to arrive. Hotel manager Peter Vitzthum says: “Big compliments to the fire brigade. They handled everything very well.”
Operation manager and local fire chief Michael Unterberger describes: “As soon as we arrived, we saw the heavy smoke through the sliding glass doors and brought our colleagues from Kaprun with us. The hotel was lucky, there was a Christmas tree nearby, it could have been worse.”
Guests housed in fire station
The sigh of relief is great. Vitzthum: “On Christmas morning the guests were able to have breakfast again. It was a bit of a shock, in the middle of the high season, but the most important thing is that nothing more happened.” After the evacuation, the guests were accommodated in the fire station and in the adjacent building. However, after the deployment they were able to move back to their rooms.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
