STOCKHOLM — Police in Sweden say they have detained a man his 50s who is suspected of arson at the Portuguese Embassy in Stockholm.

A large fire broke out shortly before noon Wednesday in a downtown building that also houses the embassies of Argentina, Belgium and Tunisia.

Police spokesman Mats Karlsson told Swedish public broadcaster SVT that 14 people received medical assistance and some have been taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

He says none of them are in a serious condition.

Police say they think the fire most likely started at the Portuguese Embassy. Tabloid Aftonbladet reported that the detained man had visited one of the embassies in the building before the blaze broke out. </s> The scene at the Portuguese embassy

Police, who are not ruling out arson, want to question a tall, bearded man in his 50s in connection with the incident.

The fire begun in the Narvavägen in Stockholm, which is home to several embassies.

Twelve fire trucks are at the scene with about 80 firefighters.

Roger Steffen, management operator at Storstockholm's fire department, said the fire was on several levels. </s> The alarm was raised about the fire at the Narvavägen building housing the embassies of Portugal, Tunisia, Argentina and Belgium as well as apartments and a restaurant at around lunchtime on Wednesday afternoon.

"The operation is still ongoing. Around 14 people have been affected by the fire, with no serious injuries but smoke and minor injuries," Stockholm police press spokesperson Kjell Lindgren told The Local.

"The latest information from the fire fighters is that there's no one left in the building, but they're still working to extinguish the fire in the apartment section."

Lindgren said police were looking to speak to a person who they "think could have something to do with" the incident, with a description released to the public in an effort to locate him.

Asked if it's thought the fire was started deliberately, Lindgren affirmed "we think it was lit by someone, which is why we've started an investigation into arson".

An arrest was made in central Stockholm just after 2pm on Wednesday, with a man arrested suspected of arson on reasonable grounds (the lower degree of suspicion according to Swedish law). </s> Police are chasing a bearded man in his 50s after the blaze broke out.

So far at least 14 people have been injured in the fire at Portugal's embassy building in Stockholm, Sweden.

12 fire trucks and 50 firefighters are currently at the scene. </s> The fire is being treated as arson according to the Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva.

"Everything points to an isolated act from a disturbed person who demanded to speak with the official in charge of the portuguese consular service. His demand was accepted but before they could speak he acted criminally by starting a fire and then running away." said Silva in a televised statement from Lisbon.

According the police 14 people received medical assistance after the fire and two were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation though none are believed to be in a serious condition.

Police have now arrested a man linked to the investigation but will not comment on his role. </s> Lisbon: At least eight people died and dozens were injured, some seriously, after a heater exploded and started a fire at the packed premises of a local residents' association in the north of Portugal, officials said.

A wood-burning stove exploded in the two-story building late last night in the town of Tondela, around 250 kilometres north of the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, local mayor Jose Gomes Jesus told reporters.

Civil Protection Agency commander Paulo Santos told local radio station TSF that at least 50 people were injured.

Witnesses speaking to local television channels said the fire caused panic among the roughly 60 people in the building who were taking part in an evening amateur card tournament.

They said people crowded the exits as thick smoke filled the building. Dozens of fire crews and two rescue helicopters were at the scene taking the injured to hospital.

Authorities could not immediately be reached for comment. </s> At least eight persons have been killed and over 50 injured in a fire that broke out at a two-story building in Portugal, the media reported.

The fire broke out on Saturday night in a building in Vila Nova da Rainha, 250 km from Lisbon, after a heating-boiler exploded, Xinhua news agency reported.

The National Civil Protection Authority sent 148 firefighters and 67 vehicles to the scene and the blaze was contained within an hour.

Some of the injured, suffering from serious burns, were taken to hospitals by rescue helicopters.

However, fire incidents are not rare in the country, as the Portuguese Club of Hartford witnessed the same kind of incident in December 2017, including a wildlife fire incident, took almost 27 people's lives in last October. Later, the Portuguese authority said that 2017 was Portugal's "worst day of the year" for fires. </s> At least eight people were killed and dozens injured after a heater exploded and started a fire in a community center in northern Portugal late Saturday.

The fire broke out in the two-storey building in the town of Tondela, some 250 kilometers (150 miles) north of the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.

"Around 70 people were having dinner in the building when the fire broke out and we have a number of dead people as well as between 50 and 60 people injured," civil protection chief Paulo Santos told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

Local mayor Jose Gomes Jesus said people had gathered in the center for an amateur card tournament when a wood-burning stove inside the building exploded.

Witnesses said the fire spread rapidly through the building, causing many people to panic. Tondela fire service said they put the flames out after an hour.

More than 170 first responders and three helicopters were reportedly bringing people to safety. Many of the injured were brought to local hospitals suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.

Over 100 people were killed when some of the worst wildfires in Portugal’s history devastated the area around Tondela in October.

Read more: Portugal: As wild fires fade, survivors blame government for deaths </s> Eight people have died in a fire at a community centre in northern Portugal where dozens of people were watching a football match.

Officials said 38 people were injured in the blaze in the village of Vila Nova da Rainha, near Tondela, on Saturday evening. Nine people with severe burns were taken by helicopter to hospitals in Porto and Lisbon.

One of the survivors, Júlio Dias told the daily Publico: “It happened very fast. The whole floor was in flames within five minutes. In the panic, a lot of people massed against the doors and it was impossible to open them.”

He said a few minutes later rescue workers forced open a door using ropes tied to an all-terrain vehicle.

Many of those inside had been taking part in an amateur card tournament and watching football.

The local mayor, José António Jesus, said the fire was caused by the explosion of a wood-burning stove, which let off a “large quantity” of carbon monoxide. The Tondela fire service said the blaze was brought under control after an hour.

Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, was expected tovisit the scene. The area was hit by a series of deadly wildfires in October.
A fire in a building housing the Portuguese, Tunisian, Argentinian and Belgian embassies in Stockholm, Sweden injures 14 people. A man is arrested on suspicion of arson.