Beaver suspected of causing fire that burnt down family's home

Police in Sweden have said that a beaver is believed to be responsible for a fire which gutted a family's home. The house burned to the ground after a blaze in Heby municipality near Uppsala, north of Stockholm, on Monday.



Police launched a probe into suspected arson, but revealed late on Wednesday that a forensic examination of the site had identified a potential suspect, who is yet to be traced. “Our technicians have reached that conclusion. The beaver left behind forensic evidence which led us to it,” Uppsala police press spokesperson Christer Nordström said.

No one was injured in the blaze, which is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault after a tree toppled by the four-legged rodent fell on to a power transmission line. “I heard the evidence was trees that had been gnawed on and such like. I don't know anything about the forensic team's beaver expertise, but that's the information I have received,” said Nordström.



The animal, thought to have his hideout in a nearby river, is understood to still be at large. “The beavers themselves would probably not claim they destroy society functions. But they often fell trees that fall on electricity wires. If I may offer a theory, without having any insight into the case, I think it's a tree that has fallen and caused sparks,” beaver expert Lars Plahn at the county council's environmental department said.