Woman dies in house fire near Kuopio

A woman died in a house fire near Kuopio on Friday, according to a statement from the Eastern Finland Police Department.

The blaze broke out at a detached house on Saitanjärventie in Vehmersalmi around 13:00. Emergency services received reports of a medium-sized building fire and dispatched multiple rescue, medical, and police units to the scene.

Police said a man and a woman were inside the house when the fire started. Both initially escaped outside, but the woman re-entered the building in an attempt to extinguish the flames and became trapped.

By the time firefighters arrived, the single-storey house, built in the 1980s, was fully engulfed. The structure was completely destroyed. A car parked near the house also caught fire due to radiant heat, according to the rescue services.