News, Residential fire | Looking for tips after house fire: – A witness saw someone running in the area

Late on Monday evening, a severe fire broke out in a municipal housing complex in Birkelundsbakken in Nattland.

14 residents were evacuated, and for a while it was unclear whether there were any people in the apartment where the fire started.

The fire service feared that lives could be lost, but luckily it was clarified just before midnight that no one was missing.

Now the police are asking for tips in the case. Fire investigator Therese Sagstad says that they have already been contacted by a witness.

– The person had seen someone running in the area near the block where there was a fire at 2230. So if anyone recognizes those descriptions, we want them to get in touch, says Sagstad to BA.

BT was the first to mention the witness.

Requesting video or photos

Sagstad also hopes that someone who lives nearby may have captured parts of the sequence of events on camera.

The fire broke out at 2230 hours.

– If someone has driven in the area around there or lives nearby and has video surveillance outside their home, they may have caught the fire at an early stage.

– If the fire was arson, this may have been caught on film, says Sagstad.

At the same time, she emphasizes that arson is only one of many hypotheses, and that it has not been clarified whether anything punishable has happened.

The cause of the fire is not known, and no technical investigations have yet been carried out in the apartment where the fire started.

– We have to wait until it is safe. There are still dangerous gases there which mean we cannot go in, says Sagstad.

If anyone has information that could be useful to the police, they can contact the fire investigator on 474 86 359.