Fire at Finnmark petrol station could have destroyed entire village

A massive fire at a petrol station in Øksfjord, northern Norway, threatened to devastate the small community but was contained thanks to rapid emergency response, local officials reported Friday.

The blaze, which erupted around 2:30 PM Thursday at a service station in the 500-inhabitant village, sent fireballs 50 meters into the air and forced the evacuation of nearly 200 people. The petrol station, an attached workshop, a residential unit, and up to 12 vehicles were completely destroyed.

**”We’ve never seen an emergency response happen this fast,”** Loppa municipality mayor Cato Kristiansen told *iFinnmark*. He credited the outcome to firefighters’ quick containment efforts and reinforcements from Alta, which provided foam extinguishing support. **”This was a worst-case scenario that could have been catastrophic, but it ended as well as it possibly could.”**

The fire began when a spark ignited gasoline on a car engine inside Øksfjord Bilservice workshop, according to owner Harald Olafson. **”A spark flew, and there was some gasoline spill on the engine. It caught fire instantly,”** Olafson said. The flames spread to his clothing before a colleague extinguished them, but the fire quickly engulfed the building. **”First the car burned, then the building. After 8–10 minutes, it was fully ablaze,”** he added.

A stroke of luck aided the response: local firefighters had scheduled a drill at 2:00 PM, coinciding with the alarm. **”They were ready for the exercise when the call came. I don’t think we’ve ever seen a deployment this fast,”** Kristiansen said.

The fire’s explosive nature—fueled by gas cylinders—prompted a 1-kilometer safety perimeter. Elderly homes, a health center, a kindergarten, the municipal building, and fish-processing plants were evacuated within an hour. Schools and kindergartens remained closed Friday after serving as evacuation centers.

A community debrief was scheduled for 11:00 AM Friday at the local hall. **”We’re all affected by yesterday’s fire. The school was used as an evacuation center. The Loppa community stood together, and everyone helped each other through this frightening situation,”** municipal director Inger Elisabeth Tvedt stated.