Fire tears through the Danish taxation ministry, the latest major fire in Copenhagen

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A fire broke out Thursday on the top floor of a building housing Denmark’s taxation ministry in downtown Copenhagen, leading to the evacuation of the people inside the glass-and-steel construction on the harbor-front and from adjacent houses. There was no word on casualties.

Large flames and huge billows of black smoke rose from the six-story building and could be see across much of the Danish capital. Authorities say the blaze quickly came under control.

“It was a serious situation, and therefore the emergency services called many forces to the scene,” said Tim Ole Simonsen, a spokesman for the Greater Copenhagen Fire Department.

On the social media platform X, the fire brigade wrote that it “had prepared for greater efforts, with water supply from the harbor etc. It was not relevant.”

It was the latest in a series of recent blazes in and around Copenhagen.

In April, a blaze tore through the 400-year-old Old Stock Exchange downtown. The fire, which broke out on the roof during renovations, destroyed half the red-brick building and its distinctive 56-meter (184-foot) spire in the shape of four intertwined dragon tails. The cause has not yet been established.

Earlier this month, a fire broke out at an office building belonging to pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, the third fire in a little more over a month to hit the Danish drugmaker. In May, two fires were reported at a company facility under construction about 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of Copenhagen, and at an administration building in a Copenhagen suburb. The causes of those fires have not been made public.

No one was injured in any of the incidents.

Authorities have said that there was no connection between the fires.

Jens Kastvig, a fire expert with the Danish Society of Engineers, told Danish broadcaster TV2 that although fire brigades in Denmark have been busy recently, “it’s accidental, I hope.”