But my car is in the garage!

There was a lot of smoke. That usually means a fire. Then the fire fighters passed me on the road so I followed them to see if I could get a few photos, (I was on the steel horse). It was a car fire in a multi story car park near the commuter station in Handen. Fire fighters from two stations were busy dealing with the fire when I arrived. I figured I could snap a few quick photos and send them to the local paper, but their photographer were already at the scene! Police were busy closing off the roads. As far as I know no one was injured. One car was destroyed and two there were damaged. I'm guessing the guy on the top photo is a student from the KTH school and that his car was parked in the garage.

Toast!

Scary accident of the day. Here is how it happened. The truck was parked just a few meters from the Shell station in Handen when a fire broke out in the cab where the driver was sitting. He got out OK and someone called the rescue service. The fire station is only a kilometre away so they were there in no time. When they arrived the whole truck was burning. The cargo was bread, hence my title. I talked to the driver who was a bit shocked. One of his colleagues had arrived in another truck and they were looking at the damage when I arrived. I talked to a security guard at the nearby mall and he had been a bit worried with a burning truck so close to a fillig station. As I understand it no one was injured in this accident.

A Horrible Christmas

Last night I suddenly heard a helicopter flying low over Tungelsta. A fire had started in a house at Kulgränd. Someone apparently left a candle burning while taking a dog for a walk. The horrible result, six burned-out row houses. Miraculously no one was injured in the blast. Firefighters from three different stations worked for a couple of hours to contain the fire. This morning I walked over to have a look at the scene. The fire fighters were still busy working and police were about to start their investigation. I talked to a few people and they told me about a terrible night. People were evacuated to the nearby soccer pitch and today some of them will have to find another place to live for a few months. I really feel for these families, what a horrible start to Christmas they got.

The Crew Commander and the Fire-Fighter

The Crew Commander (to the right), and one of the fire fighters. There was a fire at one of the restaurants at the mall in Handen this morning. The employees managed to stop the fire, but the fire-fighters had to go back a couple of times as there was a problem with the ventilation system. I heard the news on the radio, and when I checked my flickr friend Jim's photos he had a photo from the mall. As I arrived a few hours later fire-fighters were still at the scene. I talked a bit with the fire-fighters and the Crew Commander and they said that everything was under control.

Possible Arson Attack

I was sitting at my computer last evening when I suddenly heard a strange noise outside. I couldn't see anything from where I was, but looking out from the kitchen window I noticed a lot of smoke from the nearby school. I grabbed my camera and ran through the deep snow over to the school to see what had happened. As I came around a corner I could see a lot of smoke from one of the class rooms. The Södertörn Fire and Rescue Service had arrived, and there was a lot of fire fighters, police officers and ambulance personnel at the scene. Luckily no one seem to have been injured. I took a few photos and then walked back home again. On this photo you can see a few smoke divers preparing to go into the burning building. There has been a lot of school fires in Sweden this year, nearly all of them have been started by kids so this could be another arson attack. This incident took place just around the corner from the two car fires I showed you back in October. My flickr contact Tobias Asplind has a few more photos from this fire on his web site. Half an hour after I took my photos the fire had been stopped according to Aftonbladet.

Woke Up This Morning...

This was unexpected. And a bit unnerving. I was sound asleep yesterday night. Probably dreaming about something weird, when I was awaken by a unfamiliar sound. It was still dark outside but there was a strange light from the window. Looking out I got a bit of a shock. Only meters from the house a car had just burst into flames! After calling the fire services I quickly dressed and grabbed the camera. It was raining, but the flames were still a few meters high, and as I walked closer I could hear a few small explosions so I stopped where I was and took a few photos. After twenty minutes the fire fighters arrived and put out the fire. A couple of hours later in the morning I walked down to the torched car for another look. My neighbour Danuta came over. She had heard some people outside her bedroom in the early hours and that was probably the car thieves running away. This kind of thing isn't that uncommon these days. I'm guessing it was a few local kids that stole the car and took it for a joyride.

Some sad news

Reading in the local paper I noticed an article about a fire in Tungelsta. An old croft known as Kilen (to the right in my photo from 2006), had burned down a couple of days ago. The owner, Mikael Öberg and his family lives in the house to the left in the photo. They have been renovating the old croft since 2003. And now it's all gone. The family woke up when the rescue service knocked on their door in the middle of the night. The firefighters got a call from someone driving past the place. I don't know how old KIlen was, but I know that one of Sweden's most famous politicians, Gunnar Sträng, spent some time here as a kid, as his grandparents lived in the croft. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Fire in Tungelsta

There was a fire at ålsta in tungelsta, at tungans 3-gård today. One of the few remaining greenhouse business here. Luckily it looks like the greenhouses was saved. More info later. The police asked us to move away so i went back home. The fire started in the pellet heater.

Apartment Fire

There was a fire in an apartment at Ribby in Västerhaninge today. I was in the area when the fire and rescue services arrived. They had to knock down the door to the apartment on the third floor. A little later a fire fighter opened the balcony door and you could see a lot of smoke come out. I talked to some of the concerned neighbours. It looks like the owners were staying in a camper at a local beach. They have a daughter but I don't think anyone was home. Will try to find out more later.

Manhem is no more

This is what remains of Manhem at Manhemsbacken (Manhem Hill), along Södertäljevägen. I took a photo here last year. Yesterday on my way to Djurgårdsgrind (photos later), I was shocked to see that Mannhem had been destroyed in a fire. The house was built back in 1937 by Otto Arrhenius. He was a gardener and at the time had the longest greenhouses in Tungelsta, they measured 60 meters. Arrhenius had two daughters. One of them Karen, went to school with my mother, who still has a book given to her as a gift from Karen. It's in Danish as Mrs Arrhenius came from Denmark. Later the house was rented by a guy called Folke Hellqvist. I googled the address and the current owner is a woman called Ann Elisabeth Holmberg who I don't know. My mother told me that it was a peculiar house, with doors and rooms where you didnt expect them to be. And now it's history. Bigger photo.

Possible Arson Attack

I came home just after lunch this afternoon. Sat outside in the sunshine. After a while I could smell and then see the smoke from a fire. I ran over to the local sports ground at Idrottsvägen in Tungelsta where a building belonging to my old soccer club Tungelsta IF was burning. I talked to some people and they informed me that it was the second time today that there was a fire here. So it could be an arson attack. More photos HERE. I will update on this story when I hear anything. A firefighter website, FireFighingNews published the story and a few of my photos.