Vantaa daycare accident bed failed to meet safety requirements

Documents obtained by Finnish public broadcaster Yle reveal that the fold-out bed involved in a fatal accident at a Vantaa daycare centre did not meet all of the city’s safety standards.

The bed, supplied by Sisuwood, had not been tested against the required SFS-EN-747-1 safety standard for bunk beds in public spaces, according to product specifications. The standard defines safe heights for bed rails and maximum gap sizes to prevent fingers, heads, or limbs from becoming trapped.

LAB University of Applied Sciences testing engineer Jyrki Metso confirmed the bed lacked certification. “The manufacturer states the standard was considered in development, but that does not mean it was tested,” he said.

The bed also failed to include a structural feature demanded by Vantaa to prevent a child from slipping into the gap between the bed and the cabinet’s back wall when raised. While the cabinet’s rear panel acts as a guardrail in the lowered sleeping position, Metso noted that lifting the bed creates a dangerous gap the height of the safety rail—precisely the hazard the Accident Investigation Board of Finland (Otkes) later warned about.

Vantaa’s construction director Juha Vuorenmaa acknowledged the city lacks resources to verify every detail in large projects. “A new building has thousands of components. We can’t physically check every nut and bolt,” he said, adding that the city relied on the architect’s specifications and the contractor’s selection of Sisuwood, a supplier with extensive daycare experience.

Rakennustoimisto Nousiainen, the construction firm responsible for the project, confirmed it did not question the bed’s safety during procurement. “We assumed it met requirements when horizontal. We didn’t consider someone might be in it while closing,” said CEO Antti Nousiainen.

Sisuwood, the bed’s manufacturer, declared bankruptcy last autumn. Former owners declined to comment on how the design prevented entrapment risks.