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FARMING

Dozens of livestock perish in barn fire

A fire which broke out on Monday night in a barn on a farm in Skärstad in central Sweden has claimed the lives of 46 animals.

Published: 21 October 2008 06:41 CEST

The fire broke out in the upper floor of the barn over the heads of the animals.

Around 25 firefighters from three stations worked to put out the blaze, but the fate of the animals was sealed before fire crews arrived on the scene.

The animals’ owner and a neighbour discovered the fire and did their best to fight the flames with the fire extinguishers and water they had on hand.

According to the fire crews, the pair’s efforts likely stopped the fire from spreading to the farm’s other buildings.

It remains unclear how long the fire had burned in before being discovered.

The fire consisted primarily of embers and small sparks resulting from the burning hay in the barn’s upper floor. It was the smoke, rather than the flames, which took the animals’ lives.

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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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