Fire breaks out in Denmark’s largest industrial port

A car caught on fire in the Port of Aarhus in Denmark this afternoon, resulting in one injury. 

The fire broke out around 3pm in the harbour’s car park, according to workers at the port. 

The injured man is stable.

Workers were promptly evacuated from the port’s office building. Part of the car park was damaged.

Søren Nielsen, 45, a port assistant, said he learned about about the fire from colleagues through his walkie-talkie. 

“I was working on my boat when one of my colleagues told me about the fire. They told me the worker who got injured was trying to fix the engine under the car because the car was not working, and then it suddenly caught on fire and hurt him. It is lucky that no one died,” said Nielsen.

Nielsen also said the fire could have been avoided. “The other workers and I had already been trying to tell our boss a few weeks ago that the cars were used for a long time and needed to be replaced, but nothing was done after that. Hopefully, they will do something this time,” he said. 

Victor Collin, a resident living nearby the Port of Aarhus, said the fire was visible miles away. “I was at home when I saw smoke coming out from the building. I thought the building was on fire at first because there was lots of smoke, and also because the smell of the smoke was so strong I could even smell it from here even though I am living miles away from the harbour,” he said. 

The fire was put out within half an hour by the East Jutland Fire Service.  The Port of Aarhus's daily operation was not affected by the fire. All workers returned to the office building after the fire was put out. Police are currently investigating the cause of the fire. 

Aarhus Havn, also known as the Port of Aarhus, was established in 1845 and is currently one of the biggest harbours in Northern Europe and the largest industrial port in Denmark. According to the Port of Aarhus, it is one of Denmark’s main harbours with over 73% of Denmark’s cargo containers being imported and exported through the harbour in 2023.