It took a few seconds.
Then the calm Thursday evening in Trollhättan turned into explosions and fire chaos.
– It was completely unreal, says Kajsa Enero Riquelme, 31, who ended up in the middle of the flames.
In a few seconds, the calm Thursday evening in Trollhättan turned into a burning chaos.
Catharina Häll, 59, who lives in the city center, had come home from a dinner with a friend and at 10 pm took a walk around the neighborhood with her dogs.
– Then it was calm. I came back maybe a quarter of an hour later and then the alarm went off, she says.
Catharina and her neighbors went out and were met by explosions from the garage next door. There, cars had been set on fire in what the police suspect was a coordinated attack.
– Tires exploded, large flames shot to the sky and there was a lot of black smoke, she says.
Ended up among the flames
Kajsa Enero Riquelme, 31, was on her way home to her apartment in central Trollhättan when she heard that it was on fire. She called her partner who was at home but he had not noticed anything.
“Half a minute later he calls me and says you have to come home now,” she says.
– We have cats that we have to get out. I had to run home and ended up in the middle of the flames. It was really awful.
The adrenaline, the shock and the focus on the cats made Kajsa Enero Riquelme almost run straight into the fire from the burning parking garage.
– When you see this black smoke in the distance, high in the sky – it will remain on the retina for a very long time. It was among the worst I’ve seen, she says.
– When I approached, it started to explode and glass and rubbish flew out of the parking garage, so I had to run around the block. I met a friend on the road who had to grab me because I was not contactable. I was in shock.
Still in shock
People who were evacuated gathered on the street last night. Only then did Kajsa think of the store on the same street that she runs.
– When you stood in this smoke, it was completely unreal. There were such huge flames that you felt that this would spread. Especially when you have not seen anything like this in reality before, she says.
Kajsa and her partner got the cats out and went to his parents. It was a sleepless night.
– I’m still a bit cut – I think I’m still in shock, she says.
– One moment you get frustrated with how society is, the next moment you get sad about what could have happened. Our car was also in this parking garage so we have no idea if it worked or not.
“Huge frustration”
On Friday morning, they were able to return to the apartment. Both the home and Kajsa’s shop had survived. The stairwell still smells of smoke.
– It is very frustrating and it has been for a long time. But what happened yesterday is nothing to compare with, she says.
– No matter what you do, it is a huge frustration. We have to get the security in the center in the whole city in order, so it has become so very insecure and this is just the icing on the cake. Something must happen at national level, but we must also put this problem in order at the municipal level.
Extra police are called in
According to information to Aftonbladet, the police suspect that gang criminals may be behind the fires.
– This is not how I want a society, it should not be the law of the jungle that prevails. In the past, you could avoid certain areas, you can not do that today. It creeps closer. I think it’s a bit unpleasant, that it can not be avoided, says Catharina Häll.
According to a source to Aftonbladet, the police have added extra resources from outside to Trollhättan. Another source states that special units have been installed.
– People are quite tired of this now. I think they want to take action and that there will be some change, says Catharina Häll.