There was a fire in Lisbeth’s apartment building early this morning. It started the back stairwell on perhaps the 2rd floor, and spread to the roof. (Most apartments in Copenhagen have two stairwells — the back one is a smaller utility stairwell, originally for work crews and such, but mostly used to store mops and to take out the trash.) I just happened that I’d taken a picture of that area of the building a few weeks ago.
I was surprised how much damage it did, and how slowly the fire crews seemed to respond. I noticed the fire early on because I smelled something that vaguely reminded me of fireworks. (I’d been thinking about it being the 4th of July all day, so smoke in the air made me think of fireworks.) We watched it for 20 minutes before I decided it was worth trying to take some pictures.
The crews fought the fire from the street side (and these shots are all of the courtyard side), so the first evidence of their efforts were streams of water shooting over the top of the roof. Eventually we could see firefighters using hoses from tall ladders.
One thing I hadn’t counted on was the noise. The sound of breaking glass was amazing, and every once in a while you’d hear the crunching of, I assume, fixtures and furniture falling, and perhaps even floors collapsing.
Another thing that surprised me is that there was almost no shouting or hysteria. If you’d had your windows closed, you might very well have slept through the whole thing. The sirens may have been loud on the street, but in the courtyard they were quite muted.
This morning’s news says that 15 apartments were burnt out, but that no one was hurt. There’s a short news video here.
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