Large fire hits neighbouring offices of A.T. Kearney in Stockholm
Consultants at A.T. Kearney in Sweden were shocked by the outbreak of a large fire on 7th November. The towering inferno which ripped through a central Stockholm property took fire officials the best part of a day to put it out – though fortunately no casualties were reported.
A huge fire tore through a commercial block of houses in Stockholm this month, gutting an iconic 19th Century building in the process. The sandstone-clad building designed by architect Erik Josephson, located on Jakobsbergsgatan 6/Biblioteksgatan 9, near Stockholm's clubbing hotspot Stureplan square, was erected between 1895 and 1897. The building is considered culturally and historically important, with Swedish suffragette Anna Whitlock opening women-owned cooperative store Svenska Hem there in 1905.
The site had future plans, which went up in smoke too. Part of the property is now owned by real estate company Hufvudstaden, and had recently been undergoing renovations to make place for the first Swedish store in H&M’s new premium chain Arket.
While there were no reported deaths caused by the blaze, six people were evacuated from the residential area, while two were taken to hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.
"From a fire safety point of view it is no more dangerous to live in an apartment in an old building than in a modern building. But major fires can be difficult to put out," said Lars Brodin, a fire engineer at a Swedish fire safety association.
While they were not directly impacted by the blaze, consultants from A.T. Kearney were evacuated from their building. The firm’s Nordic presence currently resides in Biblioteksgatan 11, neighbouring the afflicted block. One A.T. Kearney source at the scene commented, “Everyone is OK, but there looks to be a lot of damage.”
A.T. Kearney opened its Stockholm office in 1992, and since 1995 the consultancy have been located at Stureplan right in the center of the city. The team of Stockholm consultants supports clients across the Nordic region and Europe. Customers include large Swedish and Nordic multinationals as well as medium-sized companies and private equity firms.
