Firefighters worked through the night to put out the fire which engulfed the iconic Old Copenhagen Stock Exchange on Tuesday. They still plan to stay there for 24 hours, they announced Wednesday.
Half of the building dating from the 16th century was burned and the 54 meter high spire collapsed in the flames on Tuesday morning, but emergency services announced late in the afternoon that the fire was under control.
Save the facade
However, the fire was still not extinguished Wednesday morning in the part that was ravaged by the flames.
“ This morning, we are still putting out the fire in the burned part where only the exterior walls remain. “, indicated the emergency services on X. “ At the same time, we work with contractors to ensure the stability of the walls », they add.
Firefighters also monitored the remaining intact part of the building. The emergency services cannot “ give no guarantee » that they will be able to save the facade. “ The facades are still standing, but they are starting to give way under the effect of the fire “, the director of emergency services, Jakob Vedsted Andersen, told the press on Tuesday.
More than 200 people, including police officers, firefighters and soldiers, took part in the operation.
Fire broke out under the roof
“ In the part that we managed to save from the flames, we still have teams ensuring that the flames do not start again. We expect firefighting efforts to continue over the next 24 hours », Explain the emergency services.
The fire broke out for an unknown reason under the roof and police investigators have not yet been able to access the site.
A must-see building in Copenhagen, the Old Stock Exchange also houses a vast collection of works of art, several hundred of which have been secured.
Commissioned by King Christian IV, the Copenhagen Stock Exchange was built between 1619 and 1640, making it one of the oldest buildings in the Danish city.
