Earlier in the day Tiidemann, along with other sculptors including some from Finland, had taken part in the Fire Sculpture event on Tallinn's Stroomi beach.
The event was organized by the city administration to entertain the public and burn used Christmas trees. A group of young sculptors from Finland and Estonia organized part of the fire show.
Later that day, at about 10 p.m., Tiidemann was seen in flames by a street kiosk vendor who alerted the security company ESS. The fire was put out, but paramedics later pronounced the man dead. Tiidemann graduated in sculpture from Tallinn Art University just over a year ago. He recently applied to study for a master's degree in a course in interactive multimedia.
The deputy director of the university, Tiia Vihand, describing the incident as "painful and unfortunate," said, "As a sculptor Tiidemann had tremendous potential and was intelligent and talented."
She added, however, "Over the last year, Tiidemann hardly attended classes and his performance deteriorated day by day. We could only guess that probably all was not well with him."
Tiit Laacek, a Tallinn police department inspector, told reporters: "We have no further information about the Tiidemann case, but we have ample evidence to suggest that he committed suicide. So at the moment police can do nothing more."
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