Norwegian police have closed the investigation into a house fire in Hamar that killed four young women in September 2025. The cause of the fire remains officially unknown, and no criminal offense is suspected.
DR reports that Norwegian police are shelving the case after a year of investigation and extensive forensic work. The fire broke out during the night of September 8, 2025, in a detached house in Hamar in southeastern Norway. Four friends aged 18 and 19 were gathered there for a social evening when the flames spread through the home.
According to a press release from Innlandet police district, the investigation has now been completed and the state prosecutor closed the case on August 19, 2026. The decision states that police followed up several hypotheses, including arson, but that the cause of the fire is unknown. Because there is no basis to conclude that a criminal act took place, the case was closed as not punishable.
As reported by VG, the four victims were named as Ariane Haga, 18, Astrid Støe Valla, 18, Ester Moe Ljødal, 19, and Ida Bæk Nordland, 19. Emergency services were alerted at around 05:06 on September 8, 2025, and the house was already fully engulfed on arrival. The fire also spread to a neighboring house.
Forensic examinations indicate that the fire most likely started outside, in connection with the veranda, per the police release. Images the women had shared on social media that evening showed lit candles on the veranda. Investigators say the indication was not enough to establish a definitive cause.
Site too damaged for answers
Police prosecutor Marit Kjelsberg told NRK that the site was so burnt out that investigators did not obtain all the answers they had wanted. The police release notes that the case was given high priority and that the national crime investigation service Kripos assisted. The house was largely destroyed and was demolished in the spring of 2026.
The fire affected the whole of Norway and Hamar in particular. The municipality flew flags at half mast, and residents lit candles and laid flowers outside the burnt house. Hamar municipality activated its crisis team on the morning of the fire and confirmed the four deaths.
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The police release explains that the case is being closed now because the investigation is finished. VG notes that forensic examinations were completed in October 2025 and that police reports were finalized in April 2026. The prosecutor’s assessment is that further investigation will not clarify the cause.
