2023-05-31 07:51:51
A cigarette was identified as a possible trigger on Tuesday. In circles of the State Health Agency (LGA), it was pointed out that precisely such a scenario is the reason why the majority of clinics have long insisted on compliance with the strict smoking ban.
The fire is likely to have been triggered by a cigarette or an open flame on Tuesday night. A technical cause was ruled out by the investigators. The smoldering fire is said to have started specifically from the bed of a 75-year-old from the Baden district – one of the three deceased. The man was a heavy smoker, police said. The window in the room was tilted for ventilation.
There is a general ban on smoking in the clinics in Lower Austria, exceptions are defined smoking zones. From circles of the LGA it was heard on Wednesday that compliance with these regulations was strictly controlled. Employees would be specially trained, misconduct – i.e. smoking in areas where this is not allowed – would be punished.
Photo gallery: Three patients died in the Mödling clinic
After fire: three dead patients in Mödling (Photo: MATHIAS SEYFERT (PRESS OFFICE BFK M…DLING)) Bild 1/19
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The determination of the cause was carried out on Tuesday by officials from the Lower Austria State Criminal Police Office, department for fire and explosion crimes, together with experts from the Federal Criminal Police Office. A report from the State Criminal Police Office was received by the public prosecutor’s office in Wiener Neustadt on Wednesday, said authority spokesman Erich Habitzl to the APA. It will now be checked “which further steps are necessary”.
Five operating rooms closed
In the state clinic in Mödling, five operating rooms, among other things, were closed on Tuesday. Some of these should be able to be put back into operation in the next 48 hours, announced LGA board member Konrad Kogler in an interview with ORF Lower Austria. “It will still take a few weeks for normality,” he emphasized. On Wednesday morning there was a meeting in the state hospital in Mödling, at which the schedule was to be discussed, among other things.
In addition to the 75-year-old, a 78-year-old from the Mödling district and an 81-year-old from the Bruck ad Leitha district died in the fire, according to the police. The men were hospitalized in a four-bed room. Another patient accommodated there was not in the room at the time of the fire.
20 people were evacuated, around 90 had to be relocated – some to other locations. According to the hospital, one woman was injured. The patient, who was taken to the Baden State Hospital, was diagnosed with mild smoke inhalation.
The fire resulted in a large-scale deployment of fire and rescue services. According to police information from Wednesday, the amount of damage cannot yet be quantified. However, it “should be considerable”, was emphasized in a broadcast.
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