Police have ruled out criminal suspicion in the Hamar house fire that killed four young women. The fatal blaze occurred early Monday morning when emergency services responded to a fully engulfed single-family home. Three young women were pulled from the burning building and declared dead at the scene. Smoke divers later found a fourth woman deceased inside the property.
Authorities released the property back to owners on Tuesday. Investigators have completed their forensic examination of the scene, but the fire investigation continues. Police attorney Marit Kjelsberg said officials await final forensic reports but cannot estimate when they will be ready.
The cause remains unknown, and police have prepared relatives for the possibility they may never learn what started the fire. Officials previously indicated they believe the fire began outdoors. Kjelsberg declined to share details from witness statements or digital evidence collected during the investigation.
Private citizens provided several videos of the fire to police. These recordings proved crucial for reconstructing the event timeline as accurately as possible.
Norwegian authorities face challenges determining fire causes in fatal blazes, with many investigations remaining inconclusive despite thorough examinations. The lack of clear answers in such tragedies often compounds the grief for surviving family members.