Fire crews battled narrow roads, water shortages and ammunition in Krokstadelva blaze

Fire crews faced difficult access, water shortages and ammunition stored in several homes while fighting a blaze that destroyed more than 100 housing units in Krokstadelva, Drammen, Dagbladet reports.

More than 400 people were evacuated in the fire, which was one of the worst in Norway in modern times. The first emergency call came at 3.34pm on Friday, July 17, and the first fire crews were alerted about 30 seconds later.

A newly released log from the Sør East 110 emergency centre shows how crews coordinated their response. At 3.45pm, the log stated: “Difficult to drive down. Start extinguishing from where they are standing.” At 4.15pm, it added: “Request more water tankers. No water at the scene.”

The log also records a warning from police about ammunition in several homes, asking that the issue be coordinated with the fire service at the incident command post.

Ordinary ammunition does not usually explode like a bomb when heated, but its gunpowder can ignite. The casing will normally be thrown off, meaning it does not fire in the same way as a cartridge from a rifle. The more ammunition stored in one place, the greater the potential damage.

More than 200 firefighters took part in the operation, alongside significant numbers of police officers and Civil Defence personnel. Seventeen fire services assisted, with a total of 72 fire and rescue resources involved.

The fire service did not announce that it had gained control of the blaze until Tuesday, July 21.