Fends off payment after fire in Namsos

House fire namsos bjugnHouse on fire. Photo: Pixabay.com

Woman fends off compensation after a large fire in Namsos

A 21-years-old woman does not have to pay up to NOK 11 million in compensation after a fire in Namsos. The woman was acquitted by the District Court.

 

In May last year, she wanted to help the family tidy the garden outside their apartment in the residential area Fossbrenna in Namsos, reports the public broadcaster NRK.

– My sister and I agreed to gather some grass and twigs and burn this in the garden, the woman explains in the Namdal District Court.

The woman lost control of the fire, and a wall of a terraced house quickly caught fire. The fire department had to concentrate primarily on rescuing other homes in the vicinity of the townhouse. A whole row of houses was destroyed in the fire. Luckily, no persons sustained injury.

The fire destroyed five apartments, and the woman was accused of being grossly negligent when she lit the fire in the garden.

Virtually scot free

The prosecutor asked for an 18-day suspended sentencing for the woman and that she should pay a compensation claim of up to NOK 11 million (~ €1.15 million).

– I acknowledge partial guilt, but it was never my intention to start a fire. Nor have I got the opportunity to pay the compensation claim, the woman states in the District Court.

The minority, the court’s chairperson and legal representative, believes the woman acted grossly negligently and that she ought to be convicted. The laymen, however, found no proof that the woman had done anything particularly blameworthy.

All she is sentenced to pay is a compensation of NOK 10,000 to two victims of the fire.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today