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.