About 40 evacuated from refugee center in Sweden after blaze

Firefighters extinguish a fire that broke out during the night Sunday Oct. 16, 2016, after evacuating residents from the refugee accommodation in Fagersjo, south of Stockholm, Sweden. Investigators are treating the matter as possible arson. (Johan Nilsson / TT via AP) (The Associated Press)

Firefighters extinguish a fire that broke out during the night, early Sunday Oct. 16, 2016, after evacuating residents from the refugee accommodation in Fagersjo, south of Stockholm, Sweden. Investigators are treating the matter as possible arson. (Johan Nilsson / TT via AP) (The Associated Press)

STOCKHOLM – Swedish officials say they have evacuated about 40 people from a refugee center in southern Stockholm after a fire engulfed the building.

Kurt Jansson, who headed the fire operations, said the alarm came in the early hours of Sunday, adding that police were investigating the incident.

Investigators are treating the matter as possible arson.

Swedish media reports said there had been attempts a day earlier to torch the building, used as a temporary home for refugees who have been granted a residence permit in Sweden.

The Scandinavian country, which had a record 163,000 asylum applications last year, has seen an increase in anti-migrant attitudes with several attacks on refugee centers.