The fire in the emblematic building of the Old Stock Exchange in Copenhagen, ongoing since Tuesday morning, April 16, is “under control”, emergency services said in the afternoon. “We are in the middle of post-extinction work,” emergency services director Jakob Vedsted Andersen told reporters, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
More than 200 people, including police officers, firefighters and soldiers, took part in the operation. No injuries were reported, emergency services said.
Copenhagen Mayor Sophie Haestorp Andersen has already announced that together with the Chamber of Commerce they will “try to rebuild the building”. The building is part of “the history of the construction of our city, a history that we cannot leave in a sea of flames, and that is why we will also do everything we can to rebuild it here,” she added.
The fire broke out early in the morning under the roof, the emergency services told the press. “It's a copper roof, and it's simply impossible to get in,” the director of rescue services, Jakob Vedsted Andersen, told the Ritzau agency, adding that “the fire therefore had plenty of time to intensify and spread throughout the building”.
At midday, Mr. Andersen was alarmist about the spread of the flames, saying: “[Although] the facades are standing, (…) they are starting to give way under the effect of the fire. » “We do everything possible to protect the facades, but we cannot give any guarantees,” he added.
“We are facing a terrible spectacle,” reacted, for its part, the Danish Chamber of Commerce. “The stock market is on fire. Everyone is asked to stay away from the area around Slotsholmen. » “We are deeply touched. We are still saving everything that can be saved,” added its director, Morten Langager.
Commissioned by King Christian IV, the Copenhagen Stock Exchange was built between 1619 and 1640, making it one of the oldest buildings in the city. It was also being renovated to celebrate its four centuries of existence.
