At the Kalasatama Fire Scene, A Few Moments I Saw

Last night, Saturday, May 23, 2026, I was standing on the balcony when I saw a large patch of black smoke rising above a building in the distance.

At first I only felt that something was wrong. A little later, flames came out from the roof, and the sirens in the neighborhood became more and more frequent.

I live near Kalasatama, so later I went downstairs and walked toward Leonkatu. I stayed at the scene for quite a while and recorded a few fragments of that night with my camera.

According to a later Yle report, no one was injured in the fire. The firefighting work lasted for several hours, and nearly 30 fire department units were involved. By Helsinki standards, it was a very serious incident.

Under the Smoke on Leonkatu

Around 9 p.m., I followed the smoke toward Leonkatu.

The closer I got, the more obvious the smell became. There was a sharp burnt smell in the air, and more people were starting to gather near the intersection.

The fire was in the upper floors of a modern apartment building. By the time I arrived, there were already many fire trucks at the scene. Two large ladder trucks were set up by the road, and firefighters were working from different angles high above the street.

On the glass of the upper-floor balconies, you could clearly see the blue police lights flashing from across the street.

The Quiet Crowd

What surprised me a little was that, at first, the scene did not feel as chaotic as I had imagined.

Before the police tape was fully set up, people were just standing quietly along the street. No one was shouting. There was no obvious pushing or confusion. Many people stood across the road or near the police cars, looking up in the same direction.

The Police Line Moved Outward

As time went on, the scene became noticeably more tense.

The flames on the top floor became more visible, and the fire continued to spread along the roof area. The wind pushed the smoke across the sky until it almost covered half of it.

The police and rescue services soon put up a more complete cordon and moved the crowd farther away.

More fire trucks and heavy equipment kept arriving, and the whole street was lit by blue flashing lights.

That was when I realized the place where I had originally been standing was not actually that far from the fire.

The Social and Crisis Support Workers Outside the Brightest Lights

At a rescue scene like this, the first people who catch your attention are naturally the firefighters and the police.

The ladder trucks, lights, police tape, and smoke are all too visible.

But I also noticed a group of people wearing jackets that said “Sosiaali- ja kriisipäivystys.”

Only later did I learn that they were social and crisis support workers, mainly there for residents who had been temporarily evacuated.

The fire can be put out, but some people cannot go home tonight.

The city has to catch them in that moment too.

Note: This article only records what I personally saw and felt at the scene. The specific cause of the incident should be based on official investigation results.