Man charged with arson after Christmas Day supermarket fire in Pori

A 20-year-old man from outside Pori is suspected of starting a fire that destroyed a K-Supermarket in the city’s Uusikoivisto district on Christmas morning, Southwestern Finland Police said Wednesday.

The preliminary investigation has concluded, and the case will now move to prosecution. Police arrested the man early in the investigation but later released him. He is accused of igniting a blaze in an unlocked wooden shed behind the store, which then spread and gutted the supermarket.

“The store is completely levelled. Almost nothing remains,” shopkeeper Saara Tainio told Yle on St. Stephen’s Day.

Authorities classified the case as aggravated arson due to the severe risk to life and health posed by the fire, which produced heavy smoke across the area. While no one required hospital treatment, the blaze caused hundreds of thousands of euros in damage.

Police said the suspect was intoxicated at the time and has denied the allegations in questioning. After setting the fire, he allegedly smashed the window of a nearby parked car, leading to an additional charge of criminal damage.

A conviction for aggravated arson carries a sentence of 2 to 10 years in prison.