The hotel in Helsingborg closed in September because the property owner was going to renovate the building. Since then, the fire alarm has been disconnected.
Had it been in operation, the damage would not have been so extensive, says Jonas Hellsten, salvage leader at the rescue service, to Helsingborgs Dagblad.
It was residents in the adjacent building who raised the alarm about the fire.
The fire is still burning in the hotel, but in half of the building, the rescue operation has been able to be completed. There, responsibility has been handed over to the property owner.
The fire started on Friday night and in the other half of the building, firefighting is still ongoing on Monday.
It flares up a bit there, but it's under controlled forms and we're taking continuous measures to keep down these small fires that flare up, says Jonas Hemert, duty officer at the rescue service.
The extinguishing work has been complicated by the fact that rescue personnel have not been able to enter the building due to the risk of collapse.
