State authorities ordered an immediate evacuation of a four-story residential building in Figgjo, western Norway, after calling it a “fire trap” that endangered the lives of the Polish workers who were staying there. Some officials called it another example of exploitation of foreign labourers.
Inspectors found 44 beds spread over the four floors of the building in Rogaland County. The owner of the building, who runs a firm providing construction service, told newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad that 23 persons were living in the house and slept in shifts. Not all the beds were in use.
Inspectors cited a lack of fire escapes, smoke detectors, approved fire extinguishers and illegal electrical wiring. The building was unsafe, “and we had to close it,” said acting fire chief Ståle Fjellberg.
The action came just a week after Polish workers working on a fur farm in Rogaland also were found to be living under substandard conditions. Their accommodation was described as “filthy” with the only water being that found in a single toilet.
newsinenglish.no staff
