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The evening round ended in disaster for Mariana, 70, and the dog Frans.
A lost key was all it took.
– I will die here, I thought, says Mariana.
It started like any other night.
Mariana Stjernström, 70, in Grythyttan was just going out to roost her French bulldog Frans, 6, before it was time for bed.
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full screen Mariana, 70, had a real horror experience when she was locked out in the winter storm. Despite repeated emergency calls, there was no help to be had. Photo: Private
On her way home again – in twelve minus degrees and a blizzard – she suddenly discovered that the house key was gone.
– It was very windy and there was so much snow everywhere. Inside the clothes and in the pockets. I had to take some snow out of my pockets during the round and I think it must have fallen out then, says Mariana.
She turned back and looked, but in vain. And after a while the thoughts began to grind.
– I thought that I will probably die, it will be like that. I will have to die here in the square.
Didn’t get any help
Mariana called around, trying to get in touch with someone who could help her get into her apartment.
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full screen Securitas sent no help. Photo: Vidar Ruud/NTB
– I called the association’s on-call first, because they must have an on-call available. But they didn’t have that.
The response from the landlord was that the office opens at 10am – the next day. Hardly any help for Mariana and Frans, who were getting more and more frozen out in the snow.
In the end, Mariana got hold of a property manager. But he announced that they are not opening any doors and referred to Securitas.
But Securitas didn’t want to help either, as Mariana didn’t have any ID documents with her on the – as it was supposed to be – short evening walk.
She told me that she could identify herself with a bank ID. But they did not agree to that.
Securitas referred to the police.
The police, in turn, could not help either as the situation was not a police matter. Marina asked what the police thought she should do, would she have to freeze to death out in the snow?
She was then referred back to Securitas. Who once again announced that they could not help her.
A night in the stairwell
Eventually, Mariana had enough and instead started looking for contact information for her neighbors. She called the first phone number that came up.
– Then a student came down and helped me into the stairwell, she says.
The neighbor tried to help. He first called both the police and Securitas, but got the same answer as Mariana. There was no help to be had.
He also called the emergency services – who referred back to the police.
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fullscreen Mariana’s evening walk ended with a cold night in the stairwell. Photo: Private
It all ended with Mariana being forced to spend the night in the stairwell, together with Frans. There was no question of sleep.
– I looked at the phone constantly. Now an hour has passed, and now another hour… And I walked up and down to find the warmest place.
How was Frans?
– Frans is a strong guy. But he was cut and he froze like that at night. I had to take off my clothes to warm him. And he warmed me, so we helped each other.
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full screenFrans, 6, got chilled during the night in the stairwell, luckily he is “a strong guy”. And he warmed Math. Photo: Private
It wasn’t until the following morning that Mariana was finally able to get help from a property manager and get into her apartment.
– It felt like I had been rescued from the jungle after three weeks. I just thought I had to go to the bathroom and I had to have my medicine.
– This man was very kind and he went in with me and sat down at the table with me and talked for a while, she says.
The rental company’s response
Mariana’s landlord is the property company Hällefors Bostads AB, BoAB, which is owned by Hällefors municipality.
To Nerikes Allehanda, who was the first to report the incident, the company’s CEO Thomas Hjelmqvist confirms what Mariana tells: That they do not open any doors for people who cannot provide identification.
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full screenThomas Hjelmqvist is CEO of Hällefors Bostads AB, which is Mariana’s landlord. Photo: Press image/Boab
Thomas Hjelmqvist refers to the law, that it would be a breach of domestic peace if they let Mariana in.
– The only exception is if we suspect that something happened in the apartment that could damage it. Like, for example, a water leak, he tells NA.
According to Hjelmqvist, only the police have the right to open an apartment if the tenant cannot identify himself with ID documents.
But Mariana was refused, even by the police.
– My advice in such cases is to stand your ground so that the police come and open, says Thomas Hjelmqvist.
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fullscreen Mariana and Fred managed to get away with nothing but fright. But the nocturnal adventure could have gone really badly. Photo: Private
The police: It’s about resources
According to Christoffer Johansson, spokesperson for police region Mitt, the police cannot immediately help people who have been locked out. On the one hand, it is about who will be liable for compensation for the door, and on the other hand such an intervention must be supported by law.
– We cannot break open doors anyway without legal support. The occasions when it can be done are in the event that someone needs help from the inside or that we have to carry out a house search, he says.
In Mariana’s case, the police would have been able to help identify her, according to Johansson, so that the housing association would have been given the right to open the door.
– But it’s also about resources. How many cars we have available at the time, for example.
How should you think if you end up in Mariana’s situation?
– You can contact a locksmith and get help that way. We can’t break down anyone’s door. We can’t do that, says Christoffer Johansson.