A 55-year-old homeless man was arrested early Thursday morning for starting several small fires near a petrol station in Tullinge south of Stockholm.
A guard sounded the alarm and 15 minutes later police arrived to arrest the man, who was still present at the petrol station.
The 55-year-old made no attempt to evade police nor did he put up any resistance during the arrest.
During questioning the man said he set the fires because social services hadn’t given him the help he needed.
“He wanted us to arrest him. As far as I understand, he was homeless and needed to keep himself warm,” said police spokesperson Björn Åhlin.
Three days after a fire which ravaged Copenhagen's historic former stock exchange broke out, emergency services said Friday that the situation was "unstable" due to equipment issues and a strong breeze.
In the morning, during work to dismantle the scaffolding surrounding the building, a crane’s cutters came loose for as of yet unknown reasons.
It is currently wedged between the scaffolding — put up for the renovation of the historic building that was ongoing — and what remains of the walls.
“It is affecting our efforts”, Tim Ole Simonsen, leader of the operation at the rescue services, told a press conference.
Coupled with the wind picking up, the incident, which has temporarily halted work on dismantling the scaffolding, has made the situation “unstable”.
“The wind is blowing harder and harder, and there are tarps over the scaffolding that can catch the wind,” Simonsen said.
He added that this increases the risks, in particular of further collapse of the burnt-out facade which started collapsing late Thursday afternoon.
Located close to the Christiansborg parliament and seat of government, the Borsen building was commissioned by King Christian IV and built between 1619 and 1640. It was the stock exchange until the 1970s.
The fire began Tuesday morning under the copper roof of the building, which was undergoing renovations ahead of its 400th anniversary.
The cause of the blaze was unknown and Copenhagen police said Wednesday that a major investigation had been launched.
Please whitelist us to continue reading.
So this website can function correctly please whitelist The Local with your adblocker, antivirus software or browser add on.
Please visit the help centre for more information
