The Great Fire

Many cities have had a catastrophic fire in their history and our town of Ålesund is no exception. A fire in 1904 wiped out the entire downtown area. The scene of the aftermath was devastating, as 850 houses were nothing but ash heaps. The fire displaced over ten thousand people, and was and still is, the worst in Norway’s history. It started in the middle of the night in a factory, and there were such strong winds blowing, it took no time at all to burn up the town.

When the first fire alarm sounded, the fire “trucks” had trouble getting to the scene because the horses, which pulled the water tanks, wouldn’t go near the flames.  They were finally blindfolded.  Amazingly, there was only one death - an elderly woman who went back to get her purse.

But the big news about that fire was “the house that didn’t burn” as it’s called by the tourists.  The locals call it, “The Miracle House.”

As the story goes, an angel appeared in the house the day before the fire.  He told Anders Nord, the man living there, that the town would soon be in ashes and if he left his house, it too would burn, and anything taken out of the house would also burn; but if he stayed, it would all remain unharmed.  Anders stayed, reading Psalm 91 in his Bible throughout the night. His wife tried to get him to leave, but couldn’t.  She took her most precious things out of the house, but they were destroyed.  Anders never smelled smoke or felt heat.  He watched the fire outside his window and when the electrical line burned right up to his house, it stopped.  Every house around him was destroyed.

A documentary was made several years ago about Anders, who has since become a local folk hero.  Efforts are now underway to revive his house and open it for tours.  Both Kory and I, and our son, had the privilege of working on that house when we were in Norway recently.  I even gave a few impromptu tours and as much as people want to scoff at the story, the old photograph of the house still standing amidst all the ashes is hard to refute.  Miracles do happen.

Keiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who had previously visited Ålesund and loved it dearly, sent several ships full of supplies when he heard of the fire.  He also sent architects and engineers who designed and rebuilt the town with the Art Nuevo flare that makes it famous today. Norwegians have voted Ålesund as the most beautiful city in their country, and it certainly is.

Most locals feel as horrible as the fire was at the time, in the long run, it turned out to be a good thing. I wonder if they feel the same way about the Vikings.