Helsinki police drop criminal suspicion in Käpylä fire

Helsinki police no longer suspect a crime in the May 28 fire that damaged a protected wooden house in the Käpylä district, Yle reports.

Investigators initially believed the blaze may have started from a cigarette and considered negligence as a possible cause, leading to a probe for endangering public safety. However, lead detective Jari Korkalainen said the inquiry found no evidence of either negligence or deliberate action.

“We have not been able to confirm whether the fire started from a cigarette,” Korkalainen said. The fire is believed to have spread from near the porch toward the upper floor. A resident had smoked on the porch and disposed of the cigarette properly in an ashtray.

At the time of the fire, scaffolding and protective plastic sheeting near the porch allowed the flames to spread rapidly upward. The smoker was at home and escaped unharmed; no one else was in the building.

The 1921 building contains four apartments. Police have not determined the exact origin of the fire or whether the structure will require demolition, nor have they estimated the total damage.