Fire crews in Drammen confirm issues at six water access points during major blaze

Fire services in the Drammen region have now confirmed technical problems at six water access points—five fire cisterns and one hydrant—during the initial response to the major fire in Krogstadelva, Dagbladet reports.

Early explanations cited dry cisterns, but authorities later clarified that the issues stemmed from difficulties connecting equipment. A new statement details the obstacles: limited space in some cisterns hindered equipment installation, one cistern was mislabeled as a fire cistern despite being a standard water cistern, additional equipment or ladders had to be removed from some cisterns before use, one cistern lid was overgrown and required clearing, one fire cistern had only a single outlet limiting connection options, and one hydrant lacked the necessary connection point. Low water pressure at some access points was also reported, attributed to significant elevation differences in the local pipeline network.

Stab leader Tony Ugstad of the Drammen region fire service stated that these water supply challenges did not affect the outcome of the firefighting efforts. The blaze, which broke out on the afternoon of July 17, destroyed over 100 homes. Fire crews from across the Østlandet region assisted in the operation.

Acting municipal director Sudhir Sharma said Drammen municipality maintains a digital overview of all fire cisterns, hydrants, and water supply networks shared with the fire service, though the system does not include data on water volume or pressure conditions. Sharma announced a thorough evaluation of the incident in collaboration with the fire service to review procedures, systems, and infrastructure.