A 26-year-old woman is in critical condition after falling from a window of a residential building during a fire that broke out on Friday, July 17, in an apartment block in the centre of Trieste. The presence of blood on the stairs and wounds on the young woman's body had initially led investigators to consider a possible assault. However, checks carried out in the hours that followed found no evidence to support this theory.
The fire broke out shortly after 9 pm in the apartment where the young woman lived alone, on the second floor of a five-storey building at number 8 Via Cesare Battisti. The flames, which started in the kitchen area, produced a large amount of smoke that rapidly filled the stairwell and forced the evacuation of the entire building.
**Those overcome by smoke**
A large number of fire engines, ambulances from the emergency services and carabinieri attended the scene. The first information released during the rescue operation reported eleven people overcome by smoke, four of whom were taken to Cattinara hospital; a subsequent tally reported by the local press indicates at least nine people affected, with three admitted in yellow code. The discrepancy may be due to the fact that some individuals were treated on site without requiring hospitalisation.
The most serious case is that of the 26-year-old. According to the account that has emerged so far, the young woman left her apartment as the fire spread, went up and down the stairs several times, and sought help by ringing a neighbour's doorbell. She then fell from a window in the stairwell. Reports have given differing accounts of the height of the fall, placing it somewhere between the third and fourth floor.
The young woman sustained fractures, burns and other injuries and underwent emergency surgery at Cattinara hospital. Her transfer to the Burns Centre in Padua had also been arranged.
**The blood traces on the stairs**
What initially made it more difficult to interpret what had happened were the numerous traces of blood found inside the building: drops, smears and footprints, some left by bare feet, visible on the steps and walls. Further traces were reportedly found next to the doorbell of the home where the young woman had sought help.
Cut wounds to her chest and arms were also found on her body. Investigators therefore sought to establish whether these could have been inflicted by another person or whether they were attributable to an act carried out by the young woman herself.
Some residents reportedly said they had heard her calling for help. In the early hours, an account also circulated regarding an alleged argument, a circumstance that, however, was not corroborated by the carabinieri's investigations.
The hypothesis of an assault, which was initially considered alongside others, appears at this stage to have been ruled out. The Trieste public prosecutor stated that "no other individuals appear to be involved." Investigators are therefore working on the theory that the young woman acted alone, although a full reconstruction of the sequence of events will require further investigation.
**The origin of the fire**
It also remains to be established what caused the fire in the apartment. The technical report from the fire brigade is awaited, which is necessary to identify the point of ignition and clarify whether it was an accident or a deliberately set fire.
Investigators are also reconstructing the young woman's movements within the building, following the traces left on the stairs. Only the combination of technical assessments, surveys and witness statements will be able to precisely clarify what happened in the minutes between the start of the fire and the fall from the window.
