Denmark fire crews are still working on Wednesday morning to extinguish a major blaze that tore through a self-storage facility in Kastrup, Amager. The Copenhagen Police received the initial alarm at 6:49 PM Tuesday, with reports of large flames erupting from the roof of the Nettolager building on Præstefælledvej. While the fire was brought under control Tuesday night, the complex task of final extinguishment continues, delaying the start of a formal investigation into what caused the destructive incident.
Vagtchef Dyre Sønnicksen from the Copenhagen Police confirmed the ongoing operation. "The fire service expected to be finished during the night, but now they say it will be during the morning," he stated. The delay stems from deep-seated embers within the structure. "Down at the bottom, there's a lot of embers, and when you disturb it, it flares up again. And the investigators need to get down and sift through it to find out what happened," Sønnicksen explained. Police have not yet been able to enter the building to assess the cause.
A Long Night for Emergency Services
The response to the Copenhagen fire mobilized significant resources from the city's fire and rescue services. Initial statements from police on Tuesday evening painted a dire picture, with Vagtchef Anders Frederiksen warning that large parts of the building were likely to burn down. Residents in the surrounding area were advised to close doors and windows due to smoke, a standard precaution during major structural fires. By Wednesday morning, those specific advisories were lifted, indicating improved air quality as the active burning ceased.
A concerning possibility briefly emerged during the response. "There was just a short suspicion that part of the roof could contain asbestos," said Dyre Sønnicksen. Asbestos, a hazardous material when its fibers become airborne, requires special containment procedures during firefighting and demolition. Fortunately, subsequent testing provided relief. "But they found out that it fortunately does not, when they got closer and had it tested," Sønnicksen confirmed. This eliminated a significant secondary public health risk and simplified the cleanup operation.
The Rise of Urban Storage and Its Risks
The fire highlights the growing presence of self-storage facilities in Danish urban areas like Amager and Copenhagen. Companies like Nettolager cater to residents and small businesses in space-constrained cities, offering rental units for everything from seasonal decorations to commercial inventory. These facilities often occupy converted industrial buildings or newly constructed complexes, packed with a diverse and highly combustible array of personal and business belongings.
Fire safety experts note that such warehouses present unique challenges. The compartmentalized nature of storage units can hide the origin and spread of a fire behind locked doors, while the varied contents—which can include furniture, documents, electronics, and other materials—create a complex fuel load. Determining the point of origin becomes a meticulous forensic process once investigators can safely access the site. The structural integrity of the building after such a prolonged, intense fire will also be a major concern, potentially affecting neighboring properties on the industrial street.
The Investigation Awaits Access
The critical phase of determining the cause of the Denmark fire cannot begin until fire officials declare the site safe and fully extinguished. This is a standard but frustrating protocol. Every effort to search for clues risks reigniting hidden pockets of heat. Investigators will need to systematically work through the debris, looking for electrical faults, signs of accidental ignition, or any other evidence that points to the source.
Police have indicated no immediate signs of criminal activity, but all possibilities typically remain open during the initial phase. The focus will be on the building's systems and the activities within it prior to the outbreak. The total damage is expected to be substantial, given the initial assessment that large sections would be lost. For customers of the storage facility, the wait for answers will be agonizing, with personal and business assets likely destroyed.
A Community's Resilience on Amager
For the local community in Kastrup, the incident was a dramatic evening that has now settled into a lingering operation. The swift warning to residents demonstrated effective emergency coordination. The confirmation that no asbestos was involved removes a long-term worry for the neighborhood, allowing the aftermath to focus solely on property damage rather than environmental contamination.
The fire serves as a stark reminder of the modern urban landscape. As cities densify and personal and commercial space becomes premium, facilities like the one on Præstefælledvej fill a necessary niche. This fire will inevitably prompt discussions among Copenhagen's building and safety authorities about regulations and fire prevention standards specific to these high-density storage warehouses. Were sprinkler systems present and operational? Were fire breaks adequate? These are questions the investigation will seek to answer.
As the smoke clears over Amager, the process of reckoning begins. For the fire service, it's a job well done in preventing injury and containing the blaze. For the police and fire investigators, a painstaking puzzle awaits. And for the city of Copenhagen, it's a case study in managing the risks that come with innovative solutions to urban living. The final cost, both financial and personal, remains to be tallied once the last ember is cold.