A large fire broke out Thursday morning at SuperBrugsen, a supermarket chain in Galten, Denmark, where the storage area was engulfed in flames and an outer wall collapsed. This dramatic incident attracted a significant response from both the police and fire services in the area around Søndergade in the eastern Jutland town. By midday, the blaze had become so intense that multiple walls of the storage facility had collapsed, according to Kent Winther, the operations manager of the East Jutland Fire Department (Østjyllands Brandvæsen), who also reported heavy smoke development.

“This is a serious fire in the store’s storage area, so we have personnel from seven stations on site,” Winther stated. The Southeast Jutland Police (Sydøstjyllands Politi) issued a warning on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), advising local residents about the smoke drifting towards the east. The police urged community members to avoid the smoke and to keep doors, windows, and ventilation systems closed. If anyone experiences issues from the smoke, they should seek medical attention.

The fire alarm was received at 10:55 AM, and footage from the scene clearly shows thick columns of smoke and severely damaged structures. The East Jutland Fire Department is working intensively to prevent the flames from spreading further and has sourced water from a nearby lake. Winther described the incident as “a significant and complex situation,” but he expects to have it under control shortly.

Galten, located west of Aarhus, is usually a quiet town, but the morning was disrupted by this fire. Neighbor Lina Hummelmose reported to TV 2 Østjylland that she heard someone yelling “it’s burning,” prompting her to rush outside and see the tar-like smoke. The East Jutland Fire Department updated on X at 2 PM that they are still diligently working at the site to extinguish the remaining hotspots and expect to continue their efforts for some time.