Police suspect deliberate fires in Lahti may be linked to August blazes

Police suspect that two fires in Lahti on Thursday evening were deliberately started and are investigating whether they are connected to similar fires in August, Yle reported.

One fire broke out on Penninkatu and the other on Mattilanmäenpolku. Both involved abandoned properties. No one was injured.

Häme Police criminal inspector Jari Kiiskinen said technical investigations had been completed at both locations. Investigators had found no natural cause for either fire, giving them reason to suspect arson.

Because the fires did not pose a general danger to life or health, police are investigating them as criminal damage.

Police are also examining a possible connection with two fires in Lahti’s Mukkula in August. On that occasion, an abandoned house on Vanhakuja caught fire and rubbish burned at a loading dock on the same night.

Kiiskinen said one line of inquiry was whether the cases were connected, including the possibility that someone had been setting two fires on the same night.