12 housing units were hit and many were evacuated after a violent fire in downtown Longyearbyen. Parts of a team from the TV show “Adventurous Renewal” have woken up to the fire alarm.
Updated less than 10 minutes ago
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The case is up to date.
Shortly before 07:00, the Mayor reports that the firefighters have reported the fire under control. The danger of spread has passed.
A production team from the Viaplay program “Adventurous Renewal” was present in Svalbard and ended up in the middle of the fire drama, says program editor Une Søreide.
Three people from the squad lived in the burnt building.
– They woke up with the fire alarm and luckily they managed to get out, says Søreide.
– Then the flames turned, so it was really dramatic for them, he says.
Many team members hammered doors and windows to wake people up and get them out.
– I am very happy that it went well with all the members of our team and that no one else was injured. He went so incredibly fast, so we’re very grateful for the efforts of the firefighters and the locals, says Søreide.
Burned for several hours
The apartment complex on Svalbard burned down for several hours.
– There are a total of 12 housing units affected, Mayor’s communications advisor Terje Karlsen told VG at 05:00.
– It is said that nobody is missing, but this has not yet been confirmed. There are also several displaced people from neighboring buildings.
– There is currently a person who has received treatment for smoke damage.
In total, there were about 20 people in the “Eventyrlig upssing” team in Svalbard and three of them lived in the burnt building. The rest of the team stayed in the hotel next door.
– There were several team members who saw it was burning and woke people up by knocking on doors and windows, says program editor Søreide.
On Monday morning, the team gathers at a hotel and works on practical details like getting clothes, passports and the like. For the sake of the people involved, Søreide will not elaborate on who on the team was directly affected by the fire.
– The fire spread rapidly and there was a lot of smoke. So here we were talking about small margins, unfortunately, she says.
34 evacuees
Police received a report of the fire at 03:31 on Monday. Karlsen says all displaced people are being assisted in an evacuation center at the Radisson hotel.
Police on duty had previously confirmed to VG that it was a major fire.
Was Svalbardposten who first reported that there was a row of houses on fire.
Arild Olsen in Longyearbyen local council receives displaced people at the Radisson hotel.
– We make sure they have a place to stay, have food and clothing and someone to talk to if needed. We have a crisis team here and we continually accept displaced persons, she says.
He says they currently have 34 displaced people in the hotel.
– We are continually working to find places to live for the displaced.
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