Finland sees about 100 sauna stove fires annually, official warns

Finland records roughly 100 fires caused by sauna stoves each year, with remotely operated stoves posing a persistent risk, according to Jukka Lepistö, senior inspector at the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes).

A fire at the Attendon care home in Humppila on Wednesday was sparked after cleaning staff left items on a remotely controlled electric stove. The blaze was quickly extinguished, but heavy smoke forced the evacuation of some residents.

Lepistö questioned why care facilities use such stoves at all, calling them inherently risky in settings like care homes, hotels, or similar environments. He noted that stoves activated from outside the sauna room—whether by smartphone or external switch—carry the same danger: users cannot see if objects have been left on the stove.

Typical fires occur when cleaning staff or others place mats or towels on the protective railing around the stove. Official statistics show about 100 such fires annually, with no significant change in recent years. The number dropped from 150 in 2019 to 104 last year.

While exact figures for remotely operated stoves are not separated in statistics, Lepistö recalled cases where they caused fires, including an incident in Helsinki where golf shoes left on a stove began to smolder after the sauna was turned on remotely. In another case, a care home used a household stove daily, though it was not designed for such frequent use.

Lepistö urged sauna users to always check the stove in person before heating. Eero Hellgren, the duty fire chief for the Kanta-Häme rescue department, reported that fires caused by remotely operated stoves may be increasing, often due to items forgotten on the stove.