Local Family Praised as Heroes for Putting out Smoldering Fire in Sande

A local family in Sande has been named heroes by the fire service after their efforts to put out a smoldering fire.

On her regular walking route with the dog, it started to smell burnt for Tina Giseth (34) and her husband Thomas Giseth (47) on Sunday evening. Suddenly they were standing by a smoldering fire in Tandbergåsen in Sande in Vestfold.

– We saw smoke when we entered the forest. There was smoldering and smoke from the ground and had spread upwards into a tree as well, says Tina Giseth on the phone to VG.

– There were no open flames, just a lot of smoke.

Resolutely, the couple took action.

– We did what we could to put the fire down and ran home to get six one and a half liter bottles of water which we threw at them. And then we called the fire brigade, says Tina.

Daughter Vanessa (9) came back with her to assist in the extinguishing work.

Courtesy of the fire service

Following the recipe, Vestfold praises the inter-municipal fire service, which pays tribute to the local fire heroes on social media.

– They called 110, and ran home and got water in soda bottles and had the smoldering fire extinguished. We extinguished the fire, says emergency manager Rune André Hansen.

– Big salute to observant and proactive citizens who call 110 and suppress fires in vegetation, which can now quickly become large.

The Ulm fire started by a path north of the garage of the old people’s home in Tandbergåsen in Holmestrand, the fire service says.

The location contributed to the Giseth family taking action.

I think many people refuse to call

The location contributed to the Giseth family taking action.

– It is a bit far-fetched to call the emergency numbers, but the fire service said that we would rather call once too many times than once too few times. They were very proud of us, says Tina.

– We agreed to call the fire service because we could not go home and go to bed with the thought that the fire could start again. This is a small forest between housing estates and could quickly spread.

– How does it feel to be named a hero?

– It’s really nice. The fire service said several times that we had done a very good job of extinguishing as much as possible.

Total ban in several places

Blisteringly dry terrain, high temperatures and zero rain in sight have triggered a total ban on open flames in large parts of southern Norway.

Region East has introduced a total ban until 29 June. There is also a total ban in Vestfold.

In a VG interview earlier this week, he warned the public against underestimating how easily a forest fire can occur:

– Very little is needed. A small spark is enough to ignite large areas with great damage potential for forests, buildings, wildlife – and ultimately also human life, said fire chief Rune Larsen in the Mosse region’s inter-municipal fire and rescue to VG.

Fire chief at Fredrikstad fire station, Stein Laache, will leave on Sunday Fredrikstad newspaper with an appeal to the public to comply with the ban:

– The only place where it is now safe to barbecue is at home on the veranda and in your own garden, provided that there is no risk of fire spreading, Laache tells the newspaper.

See video of the fire in central Oslo on 11 June: