On Sunday morning, two neighbors entered a smoky and burning detached house in Flekkefjord. There they found the landlord lying on the floor and had him dragged out.
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The police in Agder reported on Sunday night about a fire in a detached house in Flekkefjord. There, two people in a dramatic rescue operation broke into a smoky home, and helped out a resident who was lying on the floor of the house.
Neighbor Vidar Emilsen (53) says that it was he and another man of retirement age who saved the neighbor from the house.
– We woke up and realized that something strange was happening on the hillside here. We heard some strange noises, including from a fire alarm, he says.
– We saw quite quickly that the house was overheated. The smoke was out in several places in the house, and then it was just a matter of calling the fire brigade.
Found unconscious person in the house
Emilsen says that he was on the phone with the fire brigade when he and the other neighbor moved up to the house.
Inside, they could see a person lying unconscious.
– We saw that someone was lying there, and we ran in to drag him out. It went very fast, says Emilsen.
– We were there at just the right time. Had it been a minute longer, we could not have gone in and found him, he adds.
The fire brigade arrived on the scene within eight minutes, according to Emilsen. At that time, however, the fire had picked up greatly.
– They were afraid of not gaining control. The house was about to be properly overheated, he says.
– As I understand it, the neighbor is in the hospital now and receiving fresh air. It’s good to have some neighbors who can hustle around.
The fire service praises the neighbors’ efforts
– We were notified of a building fire at 04:57 on Sunday night. When we arrived, there was a person who had been rescued by resourceful neighbors, says Kjetil Presterud, operations manager for the fire service in Flekkefjord.
He says that the neighbors were important.
– It is fantastic. They did a great job, and he helped out of the house. It could have gone wrong if they were not there, says Presterud.
The firefighter does not know the cause of the fire, and states that the police will start an investigation.
– What to do if you see your neighbor’s house burning?
– It is clear that it is important to wake up neighbors, and help them. Get them awake and check if you have firefighting equipment. But think about your own safety, he encourages.
He adds that neighbors often know where the bedroom is, so then it is possible to break a window and wake them up.
– Saved the life of the person
The police in Agder believe that the neighbors’ resolute behavior and efforts have saved the life of the resident.
– The fire was reported by one of a neighbors, who had heard that a window in the house next door was broken. He saw smoke coming out of a window and a door that was ajar, operations manager John Repstad tells VG.
