We ain't dead yet.

Summer has come to Bergen, the rain has gone away and there are fires all over the west of the country. Two days of sunshine and 23 degrees was too much and forests, grass, valleys, trees - anything catches fire all of a sudden.

If you've been here before you probably know about my love of fire alarms. They're neat aren't they? Especially when they go off again and again and again...

Today it was around 6:30pm, we went downstairs and came right back up. I went out on the veranda to read in the sunshine, shutting the door to get away from the sound. Or at least that was my plan.

I saw the fire truck, coming over the bridge, flying across, about the speed of a bike with a flat tire. I could have walked faster. Apparently they've realized when the alarm goes off at the student appartments at Gyldenpris, there's no need to rush.

A few minutes and 500 yards later it pulled up downstairs - I've never seen a car go up the hill that slow. The fireman in the back was sitting, patting the side of the truck as they went past, obviously not too concerned about potentionally having to rescue a hundred students from certain death.

Now I'm just hoping someone had called them and told them not to worry. Otherwise I'd be concerned if a serious fire really did start one day - they'd take it less seriously than us.


I wonder if they get annoyed when a false alarm goes off like that. They have to get out in the car and go for a drive but do they see that as a welcome break from what they're busy doing at the station, or is it an annoying interruption?

Just sucks the way they always have to come here when it happens; a false alarm for us simply means moving down four floors, then listening to it for half an hour. For the firemen it means getting their gear, driving across town, then doing their best to reset the damn thing. Not the best way for us to show them how we appreciate the work they do.


The firetrucks are going faster tonight. There are constantly blue lights flashing across the bridge - firetrucks, police cars, ambulances. No false alarms when the woods are burning. The closest one is near an ammuntion depot, the army has been called in and evacuees are having to help - due to the wind we've been having all day the flames are spreading too fast.

I just hope they get to stop it before it reaches any houses.
And that we won't hear a big bang tonight.