Heavy black smoke billowed from the roof of Grensen no. 17 in central Oslo at around 6pm. – We are starting to get control, the fire service says at 19.25.
The case is updated.
The police received a report about the fire at 6 p.m. From the ground, open flames were easily visible. Thick, black smoke billowed up. The police closed off a large area at the intersection of Grensen and Akersgata. Residents and others in the area were asked to remove the smoke, close windows and turn off ventilation systems.
An hour and a half later, duty commander Lars Lindal at the Oslo fire service says that the fire service is beginning to gain control.
– But it has not been reported that the fire has been extinguished yet, says Lindal to Aftenposten. The fire service is still working at the scene and the streets are blocked off. All emergency services are on site.
– The measures we have put in place have had a good effect, says Lindal, who says that there is a larger roof terrace in Grensen 17 that has been on fire.
– Were there people on the roof when the fire started?
– We don’t know that, says Lindal.
Unknown cause
The police still do not know what caused the fire. The police’s task leader Anders Rønning told the press at the scene.
– First, the fire service must gain control and extinguish the fire. And then we have to go and investigate afterwards to see what might have happened, Rynning said.
It was shortly after 18:00 that the police received information about the incident.
– On arrival at the scene, there were flames rising from the roof and it was fully engulfed from the roof upwards, says Rønning.
The smoke has spread into the building next door to Grensen 19, which is a hotel. The hotel has been evacuated.
The crowd cheered
There are no registered residents at the address. The building is probably only used as commercial property, the police say.
The fire brigade climbed onto the roof to extinguish the fire. They tried with a ladder truck from both the west and east sides. In the end, they stood on the roof itself and extinguished it with a hose, Aftenposten’s reporter on a nearby roof could report.
Operations leader Anders Rynning states that there were some challenges in connection with the extinguishing.
– The fire brigade initially had problems getting to the fire. Because of the subway and the tram, which have their catenary lines where they should have their height equipment and ladder trucks, says Rynning.
Just after 18.30, white smoke came from the fire scene, as a clear sign that the extinguishing had started.
At 18.45 it appeared that the fire brigade had gained the upper hand over the flames. It triggered spontaneous cheers from the many hundreds of people who had gathered in the city center streets to watch what happened.
The tram lines in the area have also been taken down.
It burned heavily at 18:00 on Sunday.
The fire brigade arrived with a crane.
Firefighters started extinguishing from the crane truck and from the roof itself.
At 18.45 it appeared that the fire was decreasing in intensity.
Working with evacuation
The cause of the fire is currently unclear, the police reported at 6.30pm. The police have not received information on whether people have been injured.
– Work is underway to evacuate people in the building and adjacent buildings. Wide barriers will be set up in the area, and around the quarter. People and vehicles are asked to stay away from the response area of the emergency services, said Alexander Østerhaug, operations manager at the Oslo police district.
Spectators are asked to respect barriers
A great number of people gathered in the adjoining streets to watch the fire. Police asked people to respect the roadblocks that have been set up.
1 out of 3Photo: Torkjell Trædal
