– It was just to run away and start knocking on doors – NRK Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio

– It was just running off and knocking on doors to make sure as many people as possible got out, says Kristofer Torkildsen.

He witnessed the fire in the wooden house building on Risør in Agder, which started early Wednesday morning.

Torkildsen estimates it was around four thirty when he noticed some unfamiliar sounds.

At first he thought it came from workers who worked on the streets, but he quickly realized that it was too early.

When he opened the balcony door, flames came from a nearby house.

He says it was completely unreal.

– Fire is the great fear in Risør, and something you think about from time to time, he says.

Live in one of the houses

Anne Karin Solheim, who lives in one of the houses that began to burn, woke up to knocks and sounds, reminiscent of the rafters that collapsed.

It made her react.

– If it hadn’t been for all the noise, I probably wouldn’t have woken up, he says.

Asta Gautland Andersen and her husband also approached the fire.

– We ran down and saw that the building next door was on fire. Then the flames moved to Storgata 9, where we have a shop and a workshop. It was spectacular, he says.

He does not know how much damage the shop and workshop have received.

– Probably about 25 years of a lifetime’s work have been lost. I see that it has not burned inside the shop or workshop, but there is probably a lot of smoke and water and everything.

He says he is optimistic and believes they will get the business going again.

– A sad day for Risør

There were many who woke up brutally. The police had to slam doors and enter.

Risør Per Mayor Kristian Lunden has mixed feelings after the incident.

– It is a sad day for Risør, because we have a very special village of wooden houses to take care of. At the same time, I am relieved that no one was hurt. It could have been a lot worse.

He thinks they had been on his side this time.

– There was no wind and there was a lot of humidity in the air. The conditions taken into account have turned out well, he says.

The mayor thinks it has been comforting to see how well the fire service worked and that people have taken good care of each other in the midst of it all.

Three houses began to burn and many were evacuated. They were meeting in the old town hall. The municipality will assist those affected with help.

At eight o’clock it was reported that there was no longer any danger of it spreading to more buildings.