Blocked exit and misconfigured sauna stove led to Vantaa fire deaths

Blocked exit and misconfigured sauna stove led to Vantaa fire deaths

A fire that killed a mother and four children in an apartment block in Vantaa’s Hakunila district in October 2023 was caused by an overheating sauna stove and worsened by obstructed exits and delayed emergency response, according to a final report published by the Safety Investigation Authority of Finland (Otkes). The fire began during the night in a ground-floor apartment when a misconfigured electric sauna stove switched on unintentionally. Th…