The entrance of the well-known building collapses.
It was just before 6 AM on Thursday morning that SOS Alarm got the call. According to the person phoning there were flames coming out of an apartment in the building.
A large rescue mission with over a dozen emergency vehicles, police and several ambulances was initiated.
About ten people are reported to have lived in the building destroyed by fire but it is not known how many people were there when the fire started. There is also reported to have been an entrepreneur renting premises in the building.
Everyone could be evacuated from the building and according to ambulance staff on the scene there was no need to take anyone to hospital.
The building in Skelleftehamn collapsed completely when it was taken by flames.
Firemen equipped with smoke helmets were tasked with stopping the fire from the inside and emergency staff extinguished flames from above with a crane. However, the fire quickly spread to the attic.
At 8 AM the emergency services were still hoping to be able to extinguish the fire.
– I’m counting on staying here all day. It's an older building, lots of additions. At some point... I’m probably counting on the worst outcome but hoping for the best, said the fireman Peter Granberg.
The emergency services staff were working on controlling the fire but it was not possible to save the building.
Two hours later the emergency services announced that it was not possible to save the building. The building had collapsed before lunchtime. The focus was instead of preventing the fire from spreading to surrounding buildings.
– We let the house burn in a controlled manner. It’s an old building with an older part of the house and an addition. We had a fire spreading from one of the apartments up to the attic and further into the construction. It was not something we were capable of putting out. We then wanted to save the other part of the building but that wasn't possible either, says Peter Granberg.
The flames from the building and the pillar of smoke could be seen all over Skelleftehamn. Thankfully the wind was blowing in a good direction and we could avoid it spreading, the emergency services on the scene said.
He calls the wind conditions beneficial.
– There has been a south-easterly wind. We were considering putting out a VMA (important public announcement) but the wind was blowing quite forcefully upwards, the smoke went straight up. We are now going into a final extinction phase and later into a monitoring phase. It will probably be cordoned off during the night.
The task force leader Peter Granlund is satisfied with the efforts of the emergency services and assesses that they have done what they were able to do.
The building is well-known among Skelleftehamn residents as it previously has been home to a cinema, a café and an auction house.
The police will investigate the event and has drafted a report regarding negligence.
“When it is possible to do so the site will be cordoned off for a technical investigation”, the police wrote on their website on Thursday.
The building burned down to the ground and only the brickwork remains.