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Police are asking for witnesses to report after a fire in a townhouse in the Ask landslide in Gjerdrum on Sunday.
In the morning, a fire was extinguished in a townhouse in the evacuated landslide area of Ask in Gjerdrum. The house is right on the edge and was abandoned.
Unknown cause of fire
The police did not want to say anything about the possible cause of the fire. On Saturday night, operations manager Finn Håvard Aas denied that police had received reports of fireworks in the area.
"We have no idea what happened, but witnesses said they noticed several people in the area during the fire," COO Svein Walle in the Eastern Police District tells NTB.
He says it's unclear whether the people who were seen were behind the security ground barriers that were set up in the area after a landslide a year ago or outside.
Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB
Risky action
Police were notified of the fire via the 110 switchboard at 22.40 pm Saturday night. At 0.30 am, the on-site fire crews announced that they were in the extinguishing phase. The fire was completely extinguished at 7am. Then the site was cordoned off awaiting a police investigation to investigate the site.
The fire broke out in a row of terraced houses. The police decided to let the house burn down because it was considered too risky to work by firefighters within the fenced-off area.
It was initially unclear whether water could be used for extinguishing, but approval was eventually given. Since then, a firefighting robot has also been involved in the work.
14 buildings absorbed by a landslide last year
One of the largest landslides in the history of Norway occurred on December 30, 2020 in Ask in Gjerdrum. An area of 300 by 700 meters in size collapsed. 14 buildings with 31 housing units disappeared in the landslide. Some buildings have moved up to 400 meters.
Thirteen people were saved from the landslide in the first hours, but ten people lost their lives. Several of them were missing for a long time before they were found dead. The last deceased was found on March 25.
Administrative
Mayor Anders Østensen in Gjerdrum told NRK on Sunday that the municipality has earmarked additional funds to meet the needs of residents following the fire.
- Little is needed to arouse anxiety and fear in this area. We have an information center that did psychosocial observations after last year's landslide.
Source; NTB
Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB
Read our next article: Landslide in Gjerdrum
