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FIRE

Barbecue buddies face Majorca blaze charges

Three men have been arrested for allegedly starting a major fire in Majorca after a barbecue on Thursday went wrong.

Published: 30 July 2013 17:51 CEST
Barbecue buddies face Majorca blaze charges
A member of the UME (Unit Military Emergency) attempts to put out a fire on a mountain near Andratx, Majorca, on Saturday. Photo: Jaime Reina/AFP

Spain's Civil Guard arrested Ignacio G.H on the weekend on suspicion of having started the fire in Majorca.

He spent Monday night in police custody and was expected to appear before a judge as early as Tuesday.

Two other men have also been charged for starting the forest fire. 

Ignacio G.H is the brother of Samuul G.H, in charge of the farmstead where the fire originated.

Samuel was earlier arrested but then freed on bail while authorities continued to investigate the cause of the fire.

Those investigations ended with the arrest of his brother, aged 44, and of two friends, Spain's El Mundo newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Investigators believe the three men were enjoying a barbecue on Thursday at Samuel's farm.

Ignacio and his two friends had then thrown the hot coals over a ploughed field. 

This became the fire that destroyed almost 1,800 hectares of the World Heritage Tramuntana mountains, police believe.

No one was injured in the fires, although one fireman was treated for dehydration.

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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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