Norway police still investigating fatal house fire

OSLO: Norwegian police said March 5 they don’t know whether an early-morning apartment building fire that killed six people and injured 12 in the capital was caused by arsonists or an accident.

The mid-December fire ripped through the five-story apartment building, and some residents had to be rescued from the roof with ladders.

Oslo Police spokesman Jørn K. Jørgensen said a forensic investigation had established that the fire was caused by an open flame. But officers are still trying to determine whether the fire was set by arsonists or was accidental, he added.

A brief news release had earlier said the fire “was caused by the ‘use’ of an open flame,” which had led the Norwegian media to widely interpret it as meaning arson.

Jørgensen said there had been a misunderstanding about the announcement and the investigation was continuing.

Source: International Herald Tribute.