Viennese Fire Investigators Draw Balance for the Tenth Anniversary

Between 1,200 and 1,500 cases fall to the fire investigators of the Vienna police each year, according to the head of Investigation Area 8 (EB 08) in the State Criminal Police Office (LKA), Gerald Ryba, on Thursday during a background discussion.

Multiple Alarms Per Day for Vienna Fire Investigators

Vienna. There are shifts when the phone rings up to eight times a night, explained the chief inspector. Dietmar Berger, deputy head of the LKA's investigation service, added: "I don't think there's a night shift where the fire investigators don't have to go out." The work of the officers of EB 08 includes investigations into "small and large cases", as Ryba explained - from kitchen fires and gas explosions to deliberate arson with intent to kill or DIY pipe bomb detonations, and most recently the fire of a "Silver Arrow" of the Vienna U1 due to a technical defect. Not all of this ends well. Cases with injuries, deaths or major property damage are not uncommon for the detectives. "We've had 1,007 people injured in the past ten years," he said. Ryba estimated the number of unreported cases to be higher. Another 221 people died in fires or explosions.

Vienna Fire Investigators Issue Warning Before Christmas

The expert warned in advance of the upcoming Christmas not to attempt to extinguish a burning Christmas tree yourself, but instead to immediately alert the emergency services and flee. Such a fire usually spreads within a few seconds. "The smoke spreads. And at some point the apartment is saturated and all the heat goes over. And the things that are next to it start to burn," said Ryba. "You might have time to breathe three times and then you're dead."

(APA/Red)

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