Firefighters who showed up on their own to the Børsen fire caused difficulties
When the Copenhagen Stock Exchange caught fire in April last year, there were firefighters who went to the scene on their own initiative to help. In addition, there were firefighters who stayed on site after they had been relieved.
This meant that the management of the Capital Emergency Service had direct difficulties in forming an overview of which resources were available for the effort, which were available to maintain the effort and which were available to maintain the emergency.
This is according to an evaluation of the fire response to the fire at the Stock Exchange, which Storstockholm brandforsvär has made for the Capital Emergency Service.
The evaluation was carried out by two experienced Swedish emergency service personnel. They have had full access to material and interviews from the Capital Emergency Services.
- Having staff who have a strong commitment and willingness to support their organization in stressful situations is something that should not be rejected or underestimated, the evaluation states.
- However, one must be aware that it has direct consequences for the planning of the emergency response within the management system and the emergency response organization.
The evaluation states that an effort was made to make plans for the response, but that it quickly became clear that it was out of date.
- Own initiatives to go to the scene of the accident are not sustainable over time and make planning of emergency management in the system difficult, the evaluation states.
However, it is also noted that self-organization among the staff had a major positive influence on the response response.
This was important for quickly building up resources, but also for functions to strengthen the management organization on site to be quickly staffed.
The Capital City Emergency Service is praised by its Swedish colleagues for a strong organizational structure in the initial phase, which is largely due to the timing of the fire in relation to shift changes and thus double staffing.
The decision-makers have also used "the right person in the right place," the evaluation says.
On April 16, 2024, at around 7:30 a.m., the Stock Exchange caught fire. The same day, at around 4:00 p.m., the fire was under control.
No one was injured in the fire, and it was also possible to save almost all of the valuable art objects - including a number of paintings - that were in the historic building.
On Tuesday, November 12, the Copenhagen Police closed the investigation without having found the cause of the fire.
/ritzau/
