Seven people die after fleeing into smoke-filled stairwells

Seven people in Finland have died this year after entering apartment-building stairwells during fires, an unusually high toll, Yle reports. When a fire is not inside their own apartment, residents are generally safest staying inside, calling the emergency number and waiting for rescuers.

A fire in an apartment building in Jyväskylä last week killed a 30-year-old man who tried to escape through the stairwell. The Central Finland Rescue Department’s preparedness manager, Riku Lehtinen, said the chances of surviving in a burning building’s stairwell are poor. Conditions can be dark and filled with toxic gases at temperatures of 500 to 1,000 degrees Celsius, and a single breath may cause someone to lose consciousness.

There have been three fires this year that led to deaths in stairwells. Five members of the same family died in a fire in Vantaa’s Pähkinärinne in March, contributing to the total of seven. Usually, there are no stairwell fire deaths in a year, or at most one.

Smoke is more deadly than flames. Research cited by Yle indicates that 83 to 90 percent of fire deaths are caused by smoke inhalation. Even a small amount can be dangerous: the first breaths of carbon monoxide can cause confusion, and unconsciousness can follow quickly.

Ilpo Leino, a senior specialist at the Finnish National Rescue Association, said people may leave their apartments because they do not know the guidance or forget it in an emergency and act on instinct. Most deaths in stairwells could have been avoided, he said, if people had stayed in smoke-free apartments.

Apartment buildings are designed so that each home forms a separate fire compartment, helping prevent fire and smoke from spreading between homes. An apartment is generally designed to withstand fire for at least an hour, while its door is designed to withstand it for about half an hour.

Evacuation guidance used in workplaces and schools can be dangerous if applied to apartment fires. In offices and schools, smoke may spread across a large shared fire compartment, making a swift evacuation important. Apartment buildings are designed differently.

Fire drills are very rare in apartment buildings. Under Finland’s Rescue Act, fire authorities are responsible for safety communications about fire prevention, while residents are responsible for practising what to do.