Major fire destroys 100 homes in Krokstadelva

KRØKSTADELVA (Dagbladet) — A fast-moving fire tore through a row of terraced houses in Krokstadelva on Friday, destroying more than 100 homes and forcing the evacuation of about 400 people.

Police have not determined the cause and are appealing for public information. Authorities said the blaze spread so quickly that families barely had time to escape.

Dagbladet has published previously unseen images and video showing the first critical minutes of the disaster, from the first two units fully ablaze to the flames racing through the terrace toward the east.

Geolocation work by the newspaper, comparing the images with pre-fire photographs, maps and aerial views, indicates the fire started at the western end of the row in Jupiterveien.

The first emergency call reached responders at 15:36 on Friday; a resident took the earliest known photograph at 15:43.

Witness Jan Carlos Araya, who lives nearby, said the scene rapidly escalated from alarm to catastrophe.

“It was like a war zone,” Araya told Dagbladet. “I know several people who have lost everything—their childhood homes, family photos, everything that made a house a home.”

Fire crews from Nedre Romerike fire and rescue service worked through the night to bring the blaze under control.