No one was harmed in a fire in an apartment complex in the Reykjavík suburb of Breidholt at noon yesterday. Police suspect the fire started after garbage in the staircase was set on fire. A man died in a fire in that same suburb on Monday morning.
According to Fréttabladid, cords of surveillance cameras in the staircase of the apartment complex, which is owned by Reykjavík Social Housing, were cut before the fire was started. The cords had also been cut on an earlier occasion.
Many people were inside the building and firefighters had to help 12 escape out through windows and from balconies. Two women were taken to hospital because of smoke inhalation.
“It is a basic rule that when there is a fire in an apartment complex the inhabitants should stay inside their apartments and make themselves noticed in some way,” said marshal Jón Vidar Matthíasson, adding it had been of great help to the firefighters that the inhabitants had remained calm.
Matthíasson told Morgunbladid that he was relieved that the fire had not been started at night. It is not certain that everyone would have woken up to the smell of smoke.
The marshal added that recent fires in Reykjavík—several were reported this week and last weekend—should make people think about safety. Everyone should have a fire detector and no one should set garbage on fire, not outside either, because lives are at risk.
Click here to read about the fire on Monday.
