Firefighters battle flames and ice in Borås blaze
UPDATED: Sweden's cold snap hampered efforts to put out a blaze threatening to destroy family homes on Thursday morning – with the water freezing in the pumps.
Crews were called to the inferno in a three-storey building, home to several families, in Borås, central Sweden, at 4.15am. Three hours later the battle was still ongoing.
“Our focus is to limit (the fire) so it doesn't spread in the building,” Lennart Larsson of the fire and rescue services told the newswire at 6.30am. However, two hours later the blaze was under control.
No one was injured in the fire and the building was quickly evacuated. However, temperatures dipped to below -10C in Borås on Thursday morning, which has sparked unexpected difficulties for crews.
“The water in our tank has frozen. So we've had to replace it and bring in a new fire engine,” said Larsson.
Sweden has experienced a cold snap in the past couple of days, with the mercury dropping to a new seasonal record of -42.8C in Naimakka in the far north overnight.
Branden ännu inte under kontroll – boende i närheten uppmanas att hålla sig inomhus https://t.co/cG39XDDsiW pic.twitter.com/ryNX7MuWUa
— Borås Tidning (@boras_tidning) January 7, 2016
A tweet by a local newspaper showing the scene
Meanwhile, two people were in police custody on Thursday after a separate blaze broke out in a multi-storey building in the Stockholm suburb of Vällingby in the early hours of the morning.
“We received several alerts about a powerful explosion just before 2am. The explosion probably came from a tobacco store on the ground floor of the building and the fire then spread,” police control room officer Nicklas Mattsson told TT.
A fire engine at the Vällingby blaze in Sweden on Thursday. Photo: Lars Schröder/TT
The building was evacuated, with 23 residents being offered temporary shelter at a nearby school. Ten of them were injured and five were taken to hospital.
“It is unclear what injuries they have. One of them is understood to have broken a leg after jumping,” said Mattsson.
Fire crews managed to put out the flames shortly before 6am. The area remained cordoned off later in the morning while police carried out a forensic investigation.
Comments
See Also
Crews were called to the inferno in a three-storey building, home to several families, in Borås, central Sweden, at 4.15am. Three hours later the battle was still ongoing.
“Our focus is to limit (the fire) so it doesn't spread in the building,” Lennart Larsson of the fire and rescue services told the newswire at 6.30am. However, two hours later the blaze was under control.
No one was injured in the fire and the building was quickly evacuated. However, temperatures dipped to below -10C in Borås on Thursday morning, which has sparked unexpected difficulties for crews.
“The water in our tank has frozen. So we've had to replace it and bring in a new fire engine,” said Larsson.
Sweden has experienced a cold snap in the past couple of days, with the mercury dropping to a new seasonal record of -42.8C in Naimakka in the far north overnight.
Branden ännu inte under kontroll – boende i närheten uppmanas att hålla sig inomhus https://t.co/cG39XDDsiW pic.twitter.com/ryNX7MuWUa
— Borås Tidning (@boras_tidning) January 7, 2016
A tweet by a local newspaper showing the scene
Meanwhile, two people were in police custody on Thursday after a separate blaze broke out in a multi-storey building in the Stockholm suburb of Vällingby in the early hours of the morning.
“We received several alerts about a powerful explosion just before 2am. The explosion probably came from a tobacco store on the ground floor of the building and the fire then spread,” police control room officer Nicklas Mattsson told TT.
A fire engine at the Vällingby blaze in Sweden on Thursday. Photo: Lars Schröder/TT
The building was evacuated, with 23 residents being offered temporary shelter at a nearby school. Ten of them were injured and five were taken to hospital.
“It is unclear what injuries they have. One of them is understood to have broken a leg after jumping,” said Mattsson.
Fire crews managed to put out the flames shortly before 6am. The area remained cordoned off later in the morning while police carried out a forensic investigation.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.