On Friday at 3.20 a.m., the Vienna professional fire brigade was alerted to a fire in Liesing. When the emergency services arrived, the house was already on fire, as fire department spokesman Christian Feiler told KURIER: “The front door of the affected apartment was already partially charred, so it must have been burning for some time. Usus K’s family, in which the fire escaped, was able to save himself, for another resident who was found in the stairwell, unfortunately any help came too late.” The victim is believed to have lost consciousness while fleeing the flames in the stairwell.
Second victim in mortal danger
Another man was lying unconscious on the ground when firefighters arrived. While he could be helped, all attempts to resuscitate the other victim failed.
Usus K., who had just moved into the apartment with his wife and 15-month-old baby, described the escape to the KURIER: “I wanted to celebrate Christmas with my family in the new apartment. It’s now completely burned out. The dog woke me up in the night.” When Usus K. then noticed smoke, he immediately ran to the baby and wrapped it in a blanket. Together with the rest of the family, he then ran out of the apartment that was on fire. “But then I had to go back in to get the key because the front door was locked.” Usus K. suffered minor burns on his hands.