How did the fire start? At 8:30 p.m. on August 31 last year, the alarm came: an abandoned house is on fire in Bastuträsk. The fire service in Norsjö and Boliden arrived quickly on the scene, but the building could not be saved.
Examining the geographical connection, the timeline, the type of buildings/vehicles that have been destroyed, the question arises: could one or more people be behind these fires?
Yes, is the answer, which is confirmed by serious crime manager David Helgesson for Norran.
Wednesday 31 August:
At 7 p.m., the emergency services are called to Pärlström outside Jörn after an alarm about a fire in an outbuilding at the old school. The fire spreads to a wooded area and there is initially a risk of it spreading to an adjacent building. But the fire service gets the fire under control.
The police in Västerbotten state the same day that there are suspicions that the fire was started based on where it burned and how the fire started.
Wednesday 31 August:
Just an hour and a half later, at around 8:30 p.m., the next alarm comes: there is a fire in an abandoned house in Bastuträsk. The rescue service in Norsjö and Boliden go to the scene.
– The building could not be saved. Initially, there was a risk of it spreading to the nearby forest and a nearby barn, summarizes Henrik Jönsson of the rescue service.
Based on an overall analysis of the fire, the police classify it as arson.
Friday, September 2:
The emergency services are called to a fire at 11 a.m. A rest area building is on fire at Bastunä's rest area along route 95, just north of Boliden.
It was toilet paper in a garbage container that started burning. The fire service cannot say exactly how the fire started.
– But the toilet paper probably hasn't started burning by itself, says Niklas Bergman of the rescue service.
On Sunday 9 October, the emergency services were alerted that a caravan was on fire next to route 846 near the Kedträsk bridge, in Norsjö municipality. There are suspicions that the fire was deliberate.
Sunday 9 October:
At around 20:00 the emergency services are alerted to a caravan that is on fire next to route 846 near the Kedträsk bridge in Norsjö municipality.
– Since the caravan had little value and no one was injured, the incident is classified as damage by fire. We know who the caravan owner is. The exact cause of the fire has not been determined, but an assessment is that it is more likely that it was vandalism rather than it caught fire by itself, says Anders Jonsson of the police in Norsjö/Malå.
The December 25 in the old school in Kristineberg has been classified as arson. There are clear signs that the fire was deliberate and "items of significant value" were destroyed in the fire.
Sunday 25 December:
At 10 p.m. on Christmas Day, the emergency services are alerted that the old school in Kristineberg is on fire. The emergency services in Lycksele, Malå and Rusksele combine to extinguish the fire.
The old school building was a derelict building that was "cold set", meaning it lacked electricity. However, some things that were used to make ice for the ice hockey rink were stored in the building.
Gunnar Jonsson, operations leader at the rescue service in Lycksele, says:
– When we get there, one gable of the school is on fire. That part is completely engulfed in flames and the smoke and fire have started to spread to other parts of the building. We tried to extinguish the fire, but we did not succeed. There is a storage facility 15 meters from the school that we protect. It is 30 meters to the nearest house, but there was no risk of spreading.
The early stages of the fire in Kristineberg. The rescue service's pictures show how the fire spread from a gable of the old school. The building could not be saved.
What were the signs that the fire was started deliberately?
– We could see footprints going back and forth at the gable end, which is where the fire started. We could see that from the way the flames shot out of the building. The fact that the house was "cold" is another sign that there was no natural cause for the fire, answers Gunnar Jonsson.
David Helgesson, head of the serious crime department, tells Norran:
– A fire can result in a number of different criminal classifications. Only when we land on suspicions of arson and aggravated arson, as in the case of Kristineberg, does it become a case for serious crimes. Other fires have been investigated locally by the police. The classification of the fire at the old school in Kristineberg as arson is based on the fact that the fire involved extensive destruction at a high cost.
According to David Helgesson, head of the police's serious crimes department in Västerbotten, there are several indications that suggest there may be a connection between the many fires in the interior of Västerbotten in recent months.
– At present, we lack direct observations in connection with the fire starting in the old school. A number of clues were secured in connection with the site investigation, but the analysis of these clues has not led the investigation towards a suspect. Of course, we are still appealing to the public for information about the fire in Kristineberg or other fires, continues David Helgesson.
What are tje connections between these five fires?
– There are a number of fires during the autumn and winter, as you mention, where a connection can be assumed. This is based on several circumstances that we see. You can see a similar mode of crime, a geographical proximity and that we cannot see any natural causes of fire, although of course this cannot be completely ruled out. That's also the problem with the fires: evidence disappears when it burns.
"It's really only when the fire is not so large that we can make a good assessment about its cause," points out Daniel Haarala, who works as unit manager for "fire protection and hazardous substances" at the rescue service in Skellefteå.
Has anyone been arrested for these fires?
– No, but in connection with one of the fires, two people are possible suspects.
If you look at the choice of locations, the buildings and the timing, the chance of casualties is diminished: what does that say about the perpetrator?
– It would seem that there is no direct connection between the perpetrator and the plaintiff. That is one of the reasons why it is difficult to investigate. So far we are talking about material damage, but it would be devastating if there were more fires with a risk of personal injury or, in the worst case, death, Helgesson answers.