Fire destroys historic agricultural society hall in Loviisa

A fire completely destroyed the Ruotsinpyhtää Agricultural Society hall in Loviisa, Yle reported. One person was exposed to smoke and taken for further treatment.

The hall on Elimäentie was already ablaze when the fire service received the alarm, according to Jorma Kuikka, an on-duty chief with the Eastern Uusimaa Rescue Department. Firefighting was still under way, with rescue units from Eastern Uusimaa and Kymenlaakso at the scene. The cause of the fire was not known.

The building is in Ruotsinkylä, a village in Loviisa near the border with Kouvola. Its oldest section was built in 1910, with an extension added in 1938, said Janne Pekkola, chair of the agricultural society.

The hall was built through volunteer work by the agricultural society and a temperance society. After prohibition ended in the 1930s, it passed entirely to the agricultural society, Pekkola said.

The hall hosted celebrations, weddings, funerals, sports events and discos. Its annual elk soup gathering had remained a tradition, Pekkola said. “The hall has been there in the middle of Ruotsinkylä for more than a hundred years. It leaves a painful gap,” he said.