Chronicle
A fire broke out in the basement of a high-rise building in Simmering last night. The fire department declared a level 2 alert. A large number of people had to be brought to safety. According to police, the fire may have been arson.
The Vienna Professional Fire Brigade responded around 1am with 17 vehicles and 67 emergency services. Citizens who saw the smoke alerted the fire department. Thick smoke billowed from the basement windows of a tall building. The smoke could not enter the stairwell and entered some apartments.
Many residents were evacuated
Firefighters searched the stairwells and apartments. Several respiratory protection teams used escape filter masks to evacuate many residents. The Vienna Professional Rescue Service was with the Special Task Force and looked after the rescued. But no one needed to be taken to hospital.
At the same time, firefighters used breathing apparatus to extinguish the blaze in the smoky basement. After the fire was extinguished, the basement was searched for embers with thermal imaging cameras. Basement and stairwell are non-smoking with fans. The work of the fire department ended around 4 am.
may have started the fire
The cause of the fire is still unclear. According to the police department, there have been incidents of arson and collapse of several cellars in the residential complex in the last few days. Firefighters are involved in extinguishing the fire every time. After the fire that broke out in the high-rise building on Saturday night, police are now probing whether unidentified miscreants may have broken into the basement again and then tried to set it on fire.