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FIRE

Danish firefighters to help tackle blaze in Greenland

38 firefighters from Denmark have been sent to Greenland in an attempt to put out a wildfire currently burning on the Arctic island.

Published: 13 August 2019 15:30 CEST
Danish firefighters to help tackle blaze in Greenland
Ukkusissat in western Greenland. File photo: Linda Kastrup/Ritzau Scanpix

The firefighters will travel to Greenland, and autonomous territory of Denmark, in a Hercules aircraft supplied by the Danish military.

They will help local emergency services to fight wildfires which have blazed since the beginning of July and are persisting in peaty subterranean areas between Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq, in the western part of Greenland.

Authorities in Greenland took the step of requesting help from Denmark last weekend.

“I think it’s important for us to help and support Greenland when they ask for our help,” Danish defence minister Trine Bramsen said.

“We have a very special bond throughout our kingdom, so I listen extra carefully when the call for help comes from Greenland,” Bramsen added.

The Danish contingent consists of 16 national service soldiers, 8 volunteers and 14 specialist full-time firefighters, said Jens Oddershede, leader of the international section of the Danish Emergency Management Agency (Beredskabsstyrelsen).

“They will be particularly tasked with establishing a breakage line to contain the fire and stop it spreading further,” Oddershede said.

The Danish mission is expected to last around 14 days and cost up to 3 million kroner.

Police in Greenland believe the wildfire to have started on July 8th, caused by a smoking oven.

READ ALSO: Danish climate body wrongly reported Greenland heat record

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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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