Two veteran Norwegian firefighters went into a burning house in Verdal, northeast of Trondheim, on Wednesday and never came out again. An investigation is underway into what went wrong for 58-year-old Geir Otto Lein Johnson and Roger Kvello Hansen, age 51.
The two men had arrived along with nine other colleagues at the scene of the blaze at Vinne in Verdal shortly after it was reported by the owner of the house at around 2am on Wednesday. The homeowner had managed to escape and there were no others caught inside.
Johnson and Hansen nonetheless headed into the house because the fire wasn’t initially viewed as critical at that point. Fire Chief Hårvard Bye said they lost contact with the two men inside around 50 minutes later, something he said wasn’t abnormal, but the blaze intensified with danger of spreading. Crews outside continued to fight the fire, also after their two colleagues were reported missing.
Their bodies were retrieved from the ruins Wednesday night and the community was in mourning heading into the weekend. “This affects all of us in Verdal,” said another of their colleagues, Atle Aune, as condolences also streamed in from firefighters all over the country. Hansen also worked as a teacher at a local junior high school while Johnson also worked as a chimney sweep and had been employed at the Verdal Fire Station for more than 20 years. Several memorial gatherings have already been held at the local Verdal Chapel pending funeral services.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
