Three courageous witnesses probably saved the life of an 85-year-old woman in Lower Austria on Monday. A fire broke out in the house of the pensioner and a neighbor alerted the emergency services. But before they even arrived, the local resident himself successfully attempted a rescue: Together with two other men, he pulled the 85-year-old out of the house through a window and brought her to safety.
At around 1 p.m., the fire probably broke out in the kitchen or anteroom in the house in Berndorf in the Wiener Neustadt-Land district. The woman then fled from the flames into the living room. A 54-year-old neighbor of the 85-year-old noticed the flames and immediately dialed the emergency number, but a little later discovered the pensioner at an open window.
Three women dragged out through the window
In order to get the woman to safety, the man did not hesitate for a second: Together with a 34-year-old and another, hitherto unknown man, he rushed to the 85-year-old’s aid, and the courageous helpers joined forces to pull her out through the window . The woman had apparently suffered from smoke inhalation and minor burns. After the first aid, she was admitted to the State Hospital in Wiener Neustadt.
House uninhabitable until further notice
The emergency services were soon able to bring the fire under control and extinguish it – however, the building was badly damaged and is unlikely to be habitable for the time being, reported the state police department of Lower Austria on Tuesday. The investigation into the cause of the fire will be carried out in the next few days, it said.