Mother with two children rescued from blazing flames in Vienna-Ottakring!

Mother with two children rescued from blazing flames in Vienna-Ottakring!

On the night of Monday, December 8, 2025, a mother and her two children were put in mortal danger in a burning apartment in Bachgasse, Vienna-Ottakring. At around 1:30 a.m., a resident alerted the fire department when thick smoke came from the windows of the affected apartment. The 27 firefighters who were on site with six vehicles had to use special hydraulic equipment to open the apartment and allow access, as the owner of the apartment could not escape due to the heavy smoke and flames and retreated to a less smoky room.

The firefighters were able to quickly push back the flames, and a respiratory protection team rescued the mother, her four-year-old son and her seven-year-old daughter with the help of escape filter masks. After they were brought outside, the fire department handed the rescued people over to the Vienna professional rescue service, which took them to a hospital for emergency medical care. Fortunately, other residents of the apartment building were uninjured.

Efficient firefighting and post-extinguishing work

The fire department's rescue measures also included post-extinguishing work, during which smoke was removed from the fire apartment using a high-performance fan. Adjacent apartments were also checked, but no evacuation was necessary. The operation was over at around 3:00 a.m. while investigations into the cause of the fire had already begun. At this time, the exact circumstances that led to this alert are still unclear.

The situation in Vienna-Ottakring is reminiscent of the general problem of house fires throughout Germany. According to the vfdb The kitchen is the most common place for fires to start in buildings at 27%, and accounts for almost half of all fires in residential buildings. Statistics show that 83% of building fires occur up to the second floor and that fires on higher floors are rarer but more serious.

Another interesting fact is that the period between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. has a higher level of damage, even though fewer fires occur during this time. This shows how important preventive measures are, especially in residential buildings like the one in Ottakring, in order to avoid such dangerous situations.

The fire brigade in Vienna acted quickly and, thanks to their professional approach, not only saved lives, but also prevented major damage to the entire residential complex. Investigations into the exact cause of the fire are currently underway in order to avoid similar incidents in the future.