Two teens suspected of starting fire at Aura grain dryer after lighting campfire indoors for warmth

Police in southwest Finland suspect two teenage boys of accidentally burning down a grain-drying facility in Aura in January after they lit an indoor campfire to keep warm, public broadcaster Yle reports.

The 14- and 15-year-old boys allegedly started the fire inside the building, intending only to warm themselves, according to Juhani Malmberg, lead investigator and commissioner at the Southwest Finland Police Department. The flames spread from the campfire to the structure, destroying the entire facility and causing damages in the millions.

“The youths did not intend to set the building on fire—they were trying to warm themselves by a campfire inside,” Malmberg stated.

Authorities had previously announced in January that they suspected the fire was deliberately set.