Students evacuated after heavy fire in Bergen

Large evacuation in Møllendalsveien after a heavy fire on Wednesday morning.

Student Malena Fossøy Isdal woke up suddenly on Wednesday morning.

When the fire alarm went off in the student accommodation in Møllendalsveien, she assumed that it was almost as usual a false alarm.

– But when I opened the bedroom door, the apartment was filled with orange light, and it was warmer than usual.

– Then there was full panic, to put on the clothes and to get out.

On the way out, she snapped the photo showing the fierce flames in the neighboring building.

– Now we are currently evacuated to Møllendal chapel, she says.

A total of 300 students were evacuated, the police said.

At 09.30, the managing director of the Students’ Union in Western Norway (Sammen), Sonja Dyrkorn, states that most of them have already been told that they can move back.

– As of now, there are 80 who are waiting for a clarification, but we hope that they too can move back during the day, says Dyrkorn.

– Heard the sound of flames

Student Ingeborg Lien Sagabråten and her father Ståle Onsgård Sagabråten were among the first to notice the fire.

– I noticed that dad moved and told me that it was on fire. Then I immediately jumped up.

The two arrived from their hometown Hallingdal yesterday and father Ståle was due to fly early on Wednesday morning.

Lien Sagabråten says that she has the dormitory closest to the fire scene.

– I quickly packed and triggered the fire alarm in the building. Meanwhile, I heard the sound of flames and friction, she says.

Now Sagabråten is on his way to Flesland to follow his father to the plane.

She does not yet know what she will do next. – I hope Sammen has somewhere to receive us, if necessary.

– Well, a lot of extra excitement

Yosser Garcia (22), Sander Gjøsæter (20) and Selma Fyllingsnes (20) were among the evacuees.

BT meets them close to Møllendal chapel where several hundred students have gathered. Gjøsæter says there was a full alarm in the student building when they evacuated. From where they live, they could not see the flames.

– But when we came out we saw that there was a fire in the whole building next door, says Fyllingsnes.

– The heat hit us in the face when we came out, says Gjøsæter.

The three are used to the alarm going off from time to time in the building. But then it’s usually a burnt pizza, as Fyllingsnes points out.

– This was quite a bit of extra excitement on a Wednesday morning, notes Garcia.

While BT is at the scene, the police are looking for residents in some of the buildings. Some have been pulled into a bus the police have requisitioned. The students do not think they will be evacuated further away

In total, several hundred students were evacuated after the fire. Two of them are Pernille Baasland and Pernille Villamil. The two watching the extinguishing work are well away from the fire when BT hits them.

– We did not feel threatened. It was a good distance from the fire, says Villamil.

The two say the fire alarm went off inside the student building as well. When they evacuated around six thirty, there were firefighters working between them and the fire.

– It had already become a big fire, says Baasland.

Student Aslak Werner Dahl (24) realized it was serious when he saw the neighboring blocks evacuated.

– I felt the heat from the fire when I went down the stairs.

Dahl says that several cars and electric scooters were parked along the building.

– They are probably melted.

Dahl also says he could hear a crash from the cars around the building and several small explosions.

At 08.00 on Wednesday morning, the students were allowed to go back to their apartments. The exception was those who lived in the building right up against the fire. From the apartment, Dahl has a good view of the fire site. He reports damage to several apartments and broken windows.

– There is a smell of burnt wood and fuel throughout the building, Dahl reports to BT.