Bystanders rush to save priceless art as iconic Danish building burns

A fire raged through one of Copenhagen’s oldest buildings yesterday, destroying about half of the Old Stock Exchange and collapsing its iconic spire.

The blaze broke out on the building’s roof during renovations, but police said it was too early to pinpoint the cause.

The red-brick building, with its green copper roof and distinctive 56-metre spire in the shape of four intertwined dragon tails, is a tourist attraction in the heart of the Danish capital.

Bells tolled and sirens sounded as fire engulfed the spire and sent it crashing onto the building, which was shrouded by scaffolding.

Huge billows of smoke rose over downtown Copenhagen and could be seen from southern Sweden, which is separated from the Danish capital by a narrow waterway.

“A piece of Danish history is on fire,” Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen wrote on Instagram, saying that it hurt to see the loss of such “irreplaceable cultural heritage”.

There were no reports of casualties. Firefighters pumped water from a nearby canal through the doorway of the Old Stock Exchange’s gilded hall that is

used for gala dinners, conferences and other events and where many paintings were on display.

Danish culture minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said it was “touching” to see how many people lent a hand “to save art treasures and iconic images from the burning building”.

One man jumped off his bicycle to help soon after the fire broke out, and members of the public helped first responders to carry huge works of art to safety.

Among the pieces that had been on display in the building was a huge painting completed in 1895 by Danish artist PS Kroyer called, From Copenhagen Stock Exchange. No information has been released about which works of art were saved from the blaze, although video footage appeared to show the Kroyer painting being removed.

Brian Mikkelsen, chief of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, which is headquartered in the Old Stock Exchange and owns the building, was seen with his staff scrolling through a binder of photos of paintings to be saved.

Works were carried to the nearby parliament and national archive building. Rescuers used crowbars and other tools to remove valuables and save them from the fire.

“We have been able to rescue a lot,” a visibly moved Mr Mikkelsen said. “It is a national disaster.”

Jakob Vedsted Andersen, a Greater Copenhagen Fire Department spokesman, said the fire began on the roof yesterday morning and quickly spread, collapsing parts of the roof and destroying about half of the building. He said no other buildings were at risk but that it could take firefighters 24 hours to secure the scene.

Tim Ole Simonsen, another fire department spokesman, said “the fire started in the part of the building where work has been going on, but that’s all I can say about it”.

Rene Hansen of the coppersmith company that was renovating the roof told broadcaster TV2 it had 10 people on the roof when the fire alarm went off.

“After five minutes, smoke began to rise from the floor to the ceiling,” Mr Hansen said.

Tommy Laursen of Copenhagen’s police force said it was too early to say what caused the fire and that officers would not be able to enter the building for “a few days”.

Up to 90 members of an army unit were deployed to cordon off the area and secure the valuables.