More than 300 pupils will have to be located elsewhere after school fire in Tuusula
Firework thought to have been cause of Sunday evening blaze
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The damage caused to the Vaunukangas Elementary School in Tuusula by a fire on Sunday evening is so great that it is likely the school's entire complement of 300 and more pupils will need to study elsewhere for the foreseeable future.
Schools restart on Wednesday after the Christmas and New Year break, but estimates are that the school premises - which were empty at the time - have suffered such extensive damage that the building will be out of action for the entire spring semester, through to the end of May.
Pupils will be relocated in surrounding schools in Hyrylä, Hyökkälä, Riihikallio, and Mikkola.
The Vaunukangas school has pupils in grades 1-6 and a preschool facility, and there is also a kindergarten for 120 children on the same site, and places will also have to be found for these children in the course of this week.
The fire, which was discovered at around 19:15 on Sunday evening, is thought likely to have been sparked by a firework, one of the many left over from New Year's celebrations that have been let off in the days since New Year's Eve.
Initial reports were of flames coming from a rubbish bin in the school yard, but by the time firefighters arrived on the scene the blaze had spread to the roof structures and extinguishing the fire proved a tough task for the 27 units that attended.
Nobody was injured in the incident, but the costs of the blaze are likely to run to several million euros, in addition to the inconvenience to pupils, staff, and parents alike.
Helsingin Sanomat
