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FIRE

Swedish primary school torched by ‘vandals’

Police suspect that a fire that ravaged a high school in Falkenberg, southern Sweden, on Monday night was purposely lit.

Published: 25 September 2012 08:04 CEST

Tånga primary school in Falkenberg was partly destroyed by a fire on Monday night, with three firefighting patrols working throughout the night to quell the blaze.

Police suspect that the fire was an act of vandalism that was started in a garbage room at the school the day before.

“This is just terrible, it’s extremely hard to take,” said the school’s principal Lars Leijström to the TT news agency.

“We have been incredibly spared from vandalism, but this time there is no doubt that the fire was deliberately lit.”

While no one was injured in the fire, emergency staff worked until 7am before the flames were extinguished, but not before they caused significant damage to the school.

Buildings that were spared by the flames were, however, damaged by smoke and water from the firefighers.

The school’s 500 students are still expected to resume classes on Tuesday morning in the unaffected areas of the school.

“There is no risk to other buildings and we have people posted outside of the school to meet and take care of the students as they arrive. But it’s hard to get in through all the fire engines,” Leijström said.

A press conference is scheduled to be held later on Tuesday at the fire station in Falkenberg.

TT/The Local/og

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FIRE

Why have there been so many fires in Copenhagen this year?

Thursday’s fire at Denmark’s tax ministry follows a blaze at the historic Old Stock Exchange and several fires at the headquarters of pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk on the outskirts of Copenhagen.

Published: 27 June 2024 15:11 CEST
Why have there been so many fires in Copenhagen this year?

A fire broke out on Thursday morning on the roof of the building which houses Denmark’s Tax Ministry in central Copenhagen, which fire services in the capital were able to put out shortly afterwards.

The Tax Ministry fire is at least the fifth high-profile blaze in and around Copenhagen since April, following three at different buildings owned by pharma giant Novo Nordisk and the devastating fire which turned parts of the historic Old Stock Exchange (Børsen) to rubble.

The high number of fires occurring within a relatively short period appears to be down to no more than chance, Jens Kastvig, an expert with the Danish Society of Engineers said to newswire Ritzau.

“There’s always a risk that a fire can break out in a building,” Kastvig said, noting that the average annual fire rate is around one per 100,000 to 150,000 square metre of building.

“That could be anything from a smaller to a larger fire,” he said.

Kastvig said that he initially guessed the Tax Ministry fire was the result of renovation work.

Both Børsen and the Novo Nordisk buldings were also undergoing renovations at the time of their fires. This increases the risk of fire breaking out in a more flammable material such as bitumen waterproofing, or a fire otherwise related to the ongoing work.

No renovations were ongoing at the Tax Ministry however, the building’s owner ATP Ejendomme has confirmed.

“The fire services are busy at the moment. But I hope it’s a coincidence,” Kastvig said.

Tim Ole Sørensen of the Copenhagen Fire Service, Hovedstadens Beredskab, said on Thursday that there was no suggestion that the fires were related.

“There’s nothing that indicates any form of connection at all to us, and we are talking about very different businesses and types of building,” he said.

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