Seven boys between the ages of 13 and 14 were inside a garage in Fristad, outside Borås, on Friday evening when a fire broke out while they were working on an ATV, according to SVT Nyheter. All seven were injured and taken to hospital. One of them, 14-year-old Adam Mårtensson, has now spoken to SVT Nyheter about the panic, his burns and the nightmares that have followed.
Adam was standing near the closed garage door with a friend as the flames spread close to them. He tried to lift the door but could not get it open. He then turned toward the back door at the other end of the garage and jumped over the fire to reach it. After several attempts he managed to force the door open.
In an interview with SVT Nyheter, he described his only focus in those moments.
"I was just trying to get the door up, that was the most important thing I was thinking about. And to bring my friend with me. But I couldn't get him with me," he said.
Why it matters
The fire put seven young teenagers in a confined space with a single blocked exit route, and the outcome has been followed closely in the Borås area. The accounts given to SVT Nyheter, Sveriges Radio, Dagens Nyheter and Aftonbladet describe how the boys got out: partly through Adam's attempt at the rear door, and partly through the father of the household and a neighbour who managed to open the garage door from outside.
The rescue service has praised the neighbour's intervention, telling Dagens Nyheter that it "absolutely had an effect." The incident also raises questions about escape routes in garages used by young people, and about how quickly a fire involving a vehicle and fuel can fill a small space.
The boy left inside and the rescue from outside
The friend Adam could not bring with him remained in the garage. He was rescued by the father living in the house and a neighbour, who together succeeded in getting the garage door open, according to SVT Nyheter.
All seven boys were injured and transported to hospital. The boy who was trapped was flown by ambulance helicopter to Linköping. His injuries were initially described as life-threatening. He has since left the intensive care unit and is now reported to be in a stable but serious condition.
Borås Tidning has reported that the hospital said its resources were sufficient to handle the influx of patients.
Four days in hospital and burns to the face and hands
Adam spent four days receiving hospital care. He has had difficulty eating and speaking, and he has burns on his face and on his hands. At night he has to lie on his back because other positions are too painful.
Sleep has been hard to come by. He told SVT Nyheter that as he is about to drift off, he hears the wailing of sirens and the events replay in his mind. His dreams have included falling from a cliff and being in a fire.
"Right now I feel okay. It will be tough to go to school and to go back and look at the garage," he said.
He also said the experience has made him more cautious than before. He described himself as someone who has always preferred to stay on the safe side, and said he will now check things twice, down to the smallest detail.
The boys have stayed in touch since the fire. Some remain in hospital and others have been allowed to go home. Adam told SVT Nyheter that the group has grown closer.
"I think it's important to keep close contact with your friends. Because we support each other much better. We were pretty close before, but now we're even closer," he said.
SVT Nyheter notes in its reporting that in fast-moving news situations it can be difficult to confirm every fact, and that it reports what is known and what is not.
What to watch: the condition of the boy still in hospital, and whether investigators say anything further about how the fire started.