Danish police close investigation into Old Stock Exchange fire

Danish police are closing the investigation into the devastating fire that destroyed more than half of Copenhagen’s Old Stock Exchange

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Danish police said Tuesday that they were closing the investigation into the devastating fire that destroyed more than half of Copenhagen’s Old Stock Exchange, saying nothing points at the blaze being the result of a criminal act.

Despite extensive forensic investigations, review of surveillance and the questioning of a large number of witnesses, “it is not possible to determine the cause of the fire in the historic stock exchange building," said Brian Belling, the Copenhagen police officer in charge of the investigation.

“Our assessment is that we have explored all relevant investigative possibilities in the case,” Belling said in a statement, adding that no one has been charged in the case.

In the early morning of April 16, a violent fire tore through the 400-year-old building, a major tourist attraction. The blaze toppled its green copper roof and iconic dragon-tail spire. Two days later, a large section of the building’s outer wall collapsed inwards.

As the fire raged, many, including ordinary people, ventured in to rescue artworks and around 90% of the cultural objects were rescued from the building.

The fire is believed to have started on the roof, which had been wrapped in scaffolding because of ongoing renovation work to be completed for its anniversary in 2024.

On Sept. 24, King Frederik X of Denmark laid the “foundation stone” within part of a red brick wall that survived the mid-April blaze, marking the commencing of a yearslong reconstruction plan.

The owner of the downtown exchange, the Denmark’s Chamber of Commerce, has said that they will rebuild the landmark, which is considered a leading example of Dutch Renaissance style in Denmark. Construction started in 1615 and it first opened in 1624.

The fire was reminiscent of the April 2019 blaze at the 800-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.