Several buildings in Kragerø are on fire overnight to Sunday. The fire has spread to neighboring buildings, and it was not under control at 01:00 on Sunday night.
About 20-30 people have been evacuated, and they will not be allowed to move home tonight, says Kragerø municipality.
Fire chief Morten Meen Gallefos in Grenland fire and rescue, says the extinguishing work is demanding.
– This is a demanding job with cavity problems. It is a fairly intensive fire, and we have 70-80 crews on duty. We will continue through the night. We have an overview, but we are not completely in control, the fire chief tells press people on the scene at 01:00.
He doesn’t know when they can say they have the situation under control.
– We will be working on this for many hours to come. This will last throughout the night, in addition, the subsequent extinguishing will continue throughout Sunday, he says.
– A fire in an area with conservation-worthy, dense wooden housing is one of the worst things that can happen in Kragerø, says the fire chief.
He says that fire crews from Bamble, Porsgrunn, Skien and Drangedal have been called. In addition, fire crews from Agder have also been deployed.
The Norwegian Civil Defense, the Red Cross and Norwegian People’s Aid are also present in Kragerø.
The central core emptied of people
Late on Saturday evening, the municipality decided to close and evacuate the entire city center as a result of the fire.
– No people have been reported in any of the buildings. The flames have broken through the roof, and now the fire crews are trying to secure the surrounding buildings, said mayor Grunde Wegar Knutsen (Sp) in Kragerø to NTB on Saturday evening.
He says the central core in a radius of around 500 meters has been evacuated.
The fire poses a significant danger to the old and listed wooden buildings in the city centre.
Lump in the stomach
– It is with a painful lump in my stomach that I stand here, says the mayor to the press shortly before 01 o’clock on Sunday night.
– The whole city center is a protection zone, but the buildings that are burning now are not red marked, as far as I know.
He says that just over 20 people have been evacuated from the city center area.
– There are more people than this living in the affected area, but many residents are on winter holiday, says the mayor.
The police received the first report about the fire at 8.07pm on Saturday evening.
Just before 11 p.m., witnesses say that flames are still rising from the roof of the wooden building where the fire started. At 01:00 the flames were not visible, but many cavities in the buildings are burning.
Establishes reception
The municipality has set up a crisis team, and the mayor says that the municipality has established a reception for evacuees at Kragerø Sportell.
– We have had a short meeting with the crisis management and have decided to call in more personnel to look after the evacuees. They will be sent off by maxitaxi to Kragerø Sportell, says the mayor to NTB.
Wooden housing development
Kragerø has great cultural heritage value, says a concerned national antiquarian Hanna Geiran.
– This is very worrying. Kragerø has one of the country’s 200 dense wooden houses and the buildings represent our shared history. It’s also a nice and much-loved area to be in. It’s a city that has a rich history and it’s linked to artists, seafaring and the sailing era, says Geiran to VG.
