Denmark Offers Aid to Norway for Massive Drammen Fire

Denmark has extended an offer of assistance to Norway to help extinguish a major fire raging in Drammen. "I send the entire Norwegian population my deepest condolences in connection with the major fire currently ongoing in Drammen Municipality. Therefore, I have sent a letter to my Norwegian ministerial colleague Astri Aas-Hansen with the message that we in the Nordic countries must stand together when incidents like this occur," said Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen in a written statement. The Danish Emergency Management Agency has also reached out to the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB) to offer their support, an offer that was welcomed. The fire, which was first reported on Friday afternoon, rapidly spread through a row of houses and the surrounding terrain. Over 100 homes have been completely destroyed, and more than 400 people have been evacuated and housed in local hotels or with friends and family. The mayor of Drammen Municipality, Kjell Arne Hermansen, described the event as a "catastrophe." Danish authorities are also reviewing the incident to learn from it, as similar weather conditions and building types exist in Denmark. "The conditions are in no way so different that we would not see something similar happen in Denmark," stated Bjarne Nigaard, secretariat chief at the Danish Emergency Management Agency. "We cannot rule out that we could have corresponding weather conditions, and we know that we have corresponding building mass in Denmark," he added.

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I send the entire Norwegian population my deepest condolences in connection with the major fire currently ongoing in Drammen Municipality. Therefore, I have sent a letter to my Norwegian ministerial colleague Astri Aas-Hansen with the message that we in the Nordic countries must stand together when incidents like this occur.