House fire in Feldkirchen: 80-year-old with smoke inhalation in the LKH!

House fire in Feldkirchen: 80-year-old with smoke inhalation in the LKH!

In the early morning hours of November 19, 2025, a serious house fire occurred in the Feldkirchen district, which was reported via the police emergency call at 5:30 a.m. The alerted emergency services, including a patrol from PI Bodensdorf, quickly arrived on site, where the northwest side of the building was already fully ablaze. According to initial findings, the cause of the fire is attributed to an electric blanket, which apparently led to the devastating incident.

The affected 80-year-old homeowner was able to escape the building on her own in time. Fortunately, attentive neighbors alerted the emergency services so that the fire department could react quickly. Despite the quick measures, the woman was admitted to the Villach LKH with suspected smoke poisoning.

Emergency services and firefighting

Several volunteer fire departments were deployed to fight the fire. A total of around 70 comrades from various fire departments were at the scene, including from FF Feldkirchen, FF Tiffen, FF Bodensdorf, FF Ossiach, FF Sattendorf, FF Steindorf am Ossiacher See, FF Glanhofen and FF St. Urban. The emergency services worked intensively to bring the fire under control and prevent the flames from spreading.

Although the Bodensdorf-Tschöran fire department also had emergency services on site, no further details about damage or other injuries were published. The incident highlights the dangers that can arise from electric heaters, a topic that is repeatedly taken up in the fire cause statistics of the Institute for Loss Prevention and Loss Research of Public Insurers (IFS).

Fire cause statistics and prevention

Current IFS statistics show that electrical equipment, including electric blankets, is a common cause of fires. In their survey period from 2015 to 2024, the institute's experts identified stable proportions of fires due to electrical causes and human error through around 2,000 fire cause investigations. A worrying increase in battery fires has also been noted, driven by the increasing use of battery-powered devices. The work of the IFS makes an important contribution to prevention and education in order to avoid such incidents in the future.

The current fire in Bodensdorf is a tragic example of the dangers that can arise from everyday objects such as electric blankets. The affected institutions emphasize the need for preventative measures and careful use of electrical equipment to minimize the risk of house fires.

Further information on fire cause statistics and damage prevention measures can be found on the IFS website www.ifs-ev.org.

The news portals are available for detailed reports about the incident Click Carinthia and ORF Carinthia available.