The roof of a terraced house complex in Vienna-Floridsdorf caught fire late on Holy Saturday followingnoon. According to Jürgen Figerl, spokesman for the Vienna fire brigade, the fire broke out around 5:15 p.m. in Matthias-Wagner-Gasse in the Floridsdorf district of Stammersdorf. The emergency services triggered alarm level 2 and moved in with 82 people and 19 cars. It took more than four hours for the operation to end.
When the Vienna fire brigade arrived, flames erupted from the roof of the facility, which has a continuous roof construction. Wearing respiratory protection, several extinguishing lines were used on the one hand through the building and on the other hand via turntable ladders in the external attack. At the same time, the firefighters used power saws to cut several openings in the roof membrane to prevent the fire from spreading further.
Several breathing protection squads evacuated all residential units and handed over the people to the Vienna professional rescue service, which was on the spot with the special task force. Luckily nobody was injured. The roof was opened in other places with special equipment in order to be able to fight the fire better. The emergency services finally located the last embers with thermal imaging cameras and extinguished them. Loose components were secured and the roof covered with tarpaulins. The cause was unclear, the fire group of the State Criminal Police Office took over the investigation.