Krokstadelva fire leaves residents without power or water

Residents of Marsfeltet in Drammen have been allowed to return home after the Krokstadelva fire, but without electricity or running water they cannot yet live there, Dagbladet reports.

Ketil Bro, 72, and his wife Eva Liz Welle, 72, were among the nearest neighbours to the fire that destroyed over 100 homes and forced 400 people to evacuate last Friday. On Thursday, authorities cleared them to re-enter their house.

Bro first spotted the fire from across the river around 15:40, already burning in a house on Jupiterveien. He called his wife and then emergency services, who were already en route. Initially calm, he soon realised the fire was spreading with terrifying speed.

“It was completely insane how fast it spread,” Bro said. The couple grabbed their two dogs and evacuated as thick black smoke, unlike anything Bro had seen before, filled the sky.

Six days later, police and fire officials have permitted them to return. While relieved to have a home to go back to, the lack of utilities means they must stay in a hotel for now.

Some neighbours have power but no water; Bro and Welle have neither. They are now emptying their fridge and freezer as food begins to spoil. Bro had to borrow a neighbour’s oven to cook dinner.

Their house in Marsfeltet sits just metres from the fire’s devastation. From their terrace, they can avoid the view of the ruins, but the scale of the disaster is never far away.

Bro and Welle think often of friends in Krokstadelva who lost everything. “They have nothing left but a phone and a wallet,” Bro said. They hope the area will be rebuilt and its community restored.