Where and when did the fire break out in Lugano?

The fire broke out shortly after 03:00 in a building on Via Cortivallo in Lugano. According to a first reconstruction by the cantonal police, the flames started in an apartment located on the second floor, generating dense smoke. The place indicated for the origin of the fire is therefore the apartment on the second floor of the building.

How many people were evacuated and how many had symptoms?

As a precaution, 22 tenants were temporarily evacuated. Six people complained of symptoms of mild intoxication and underwent medical checks. Hospitalization was not necessary for any of them. The source then distinguishes the number of tenants evacuated from that of people undergoing health checks.

What is known about the person found in the apartment?

Inside the apartment from which the fire started, the dead body of a person was found. Formal identification is in progress. The investigation, coordinated by the public prosecutor Chiara Buzzi, will have to determine the dynamics of the facts and the causes of the fire. These are the developments indicated by the source for the next phase.

Apartment fire in Lugano: one person dead

Di Redazione Frontaliere Ticino · Published on 18 October 2026

Via Cortivallo in Lugano, where an apartment fire caused one death

Fire shortly after 03:00 on Via Cortivallo in Lugano The flames started in an apartment on the second floor A body was found in the apartment

Context

TL;DR

Fire shortly after 03:00 on Via Cortivallo in Lugano
The flames started in an apartment on the second floor
A lifeless body was found in the apartment
22 tenants were temporarily evacuated

Key facts

Location: via Cortivallo, Lugano
Time: shortly after 03:00
Point of origin: apartment on the second floor
People evacuated: 22 tenants
Person found: lifeless body
Investigation coordination: public prosecutor Chiara Buzzi

A blaze broke out shortly after 03:00 in a building on via Cortivallo, in Lugano. According to the cantonal police’s initial reconstruction, the flames developed in an apartment on the second floor of the building, releasing dense smoke.

The location indicated by the reconstruction is therefore via Cortivallo, while the point of origin is the apartment on the second floor. These are the first details reported by the cantonal police about the location of the blaze and its initial development.

The building is described as the structure in which the fire occurred. The dense smoke is the reported effect accompanying the outbreak of the flames in the second-floor apartment.

The body of a person was found in the apartment from which the flames spread; formal identification is still under way.

The body was found inside the apartment from which, according to the same initial reconstruction, the fire had started. The information about the person remains linked to the formal verification still under way.

At this stage, the report identifies the location of the blaze and the discovery, while the person’s identity is still subject to the indicated procedure.

Operational details

The response and evacuation

Officers from the cantonal police and the Polizia Città di Lugano, rescuers from the Croce Verde di Lugano, and firefighters from Lugano reached the scene of the fire.

The firefighters put out the fire and ventilated the premises. In the report, extinguishing the fire and ventilating the premises are the operations attributed to the Lugano firefighters during the handling of the fire. Their response is mentioned alongside that of the two police forces and the Croce Verde di Lugano.

As a precaution, 22 tenants were temporarily evacuated.

Six people reported symptoms of mild intoxication and underwent medical checks. None required hospitalization. The health information therefore concerns six people, all of whom underwent checks without being hospitalized.

The report keeps the two emergency figures distinct: 22 tenants temporarily evacuated and six people checked for the symptoms they reported. The information provided about the checks is limited to the mild intoxication, the medical examinations, and the absence of hospitalizations.

Key points

Identification and investigation

The lifeless body was found inside the apartment from which, according to the cantonal police's initial reconstruction, the flames had started. The person has not yet been formally identified: the identification procedure is ongoing.

This is the reported status of the person's identity, while the investigation will have to clarify the sequence of events and the causes of the fire. Coordination has been entrusted to public prosecutor Chiara Buzzi. The source therefore presents two aspects that remain to be defined as the matter unfolds: the person's formal identification and the inquiries into the fire.

The investigation will have to determine how the events unfolded and what the causes of the fire were. The source's wording indicates these two objectives without anticipating an outcome.

The sequence of events and the causes therefore remain the subject of the investigation coordinated by the public prosecutor. In the meantime, the established fact is that a person with no signs of life was found in the apartment concerned.

Formal identification is still underway, while no definitive result has been reported concerning the sequence of events and the causes. The investigation is therefore the indicated step for clarifying the issues concerning the fire that remain unresolved.

Status of the investigations

The source thus indicates what comes next: formal identification remains ongoing, and the investigation will have to determine the sequence of events and causes of the fire.

Source: ticinonews.ch

Frequently Asked Questions

Where and when did the fire break out in Lugano?: The fire broke out shortly after 03:00 in a building on Via Cortivallo in Lugano. According to a first reconstruction by the cantonal police, the flames started in an apartment located on the second floor, generating dense smoke. The place indicated for the origin of the fire is therefore the apartment on the second floor of the building.
How many people were evacuated and how many had symptoms?: As a precaution, 22 tenants were temporarily evacuated. Six people complained of symptoms of mild intoxication and underwent medical checks. Hospitalization was not necessary for any of them. The source then distinguishes the number of tenants evacuated from that of people undergoing health checks.
What is known about the person found in the apartment?: Inside the apartment from which the fire started, the dead body of a person was found. Formal identification is in progress. The investigation, coordinated by the public prosecutor Chiara Buzzi, will have to determine the dynamics of the facts and the causes of the fire. These are the developments indicated by the source for the next phase.