Twelve homes are completely destroyed after a fire in Gävle.
Three people have been injured, but it could have been much worse than that – if it wasn’t for Sofia Wahlund, who saved the lives of her neighbours.
– I have probably never screamed as much before as I did today, she says after her heroic effort.
It was on Monday morning that the fire broke out in Sätra, in Gävle.
Sofia Wahlund, who lives in the townhouses next door, discovered how a flower box caught fire, whereupon she called 112, who urged her to warn the neighbors. She took her daughter and ran out.
– I get to where the fire has started and knock. The old man who lives there runs back in rather despairing. So I start calling and yelling even more, she tells TV4 Nyheterna.
– When I ring the doorbell, the son wakes up and when he comes running down the stairs, he manages to get hold of the father, who also comes out with me, she continues.
Took care of three children
The fire had by this time started to spread to the terraced house, which is wall to wall. Three frightened girls then came out the door.
– I take care of the children because the mother wants to run in and get cats. So I get three kids, plus my own Alva and a rabbit wrapped in a blanket, which I try to go away with and calm down. Because of course they want to run after mother too, says Sofia.
More neighbors showed up and started knocking on doors where Sofia hadn’t been. After a while, the emergency services were on the scene at the fire.
– It’s crazy how fast it went. And then my own child, what should I do with my own child? Because I can’t leave her either. It was a huge panic to get these three girls out. It felt like my ultimate responsibility to take care of them, says Sofia.
Many homes completely destroyed
The property will not be salvageable and the focus is now on saving adjacent homes. Sofia’s house did relatively well, but her neighbors are currently homeless.
– I am incredibly sorry for the people who live there. My best friend’s daughter lives in that house and they don’t have a home right now.
She highlights how nice the neighborhood is and how supportive everyone around has been, from neighbors, to the police, to the church.
When it all calmed down, she got to meet those she saved again – and it turned out that her heroics were caught on surveillance footage.
– The boy came over and hugged me and thanked me for the help. And then he showed me the film of my actions. I was very loud. I probably haven’t screamed as much before as I did today, says Sofia, describing the meeting with the children she took care of.
– The girls came when we were there. Then we started laughing. They recognized me and I got a hug.