An investigation into a fatal daycare accident in Vantaa has identified a preventable safety risk linked to wall-mounted beds, with authorities urging stricter procedures across early education settings.
The Finnish Safety Investigation Authority said a two-year-old child died after becoming trapped between a raised cabinet bed and a wall at Kelokuusen daycare on 24 March. The child sustained injuries during a rest period and later died in hospital.
The authority’s report sets out how the incident unfolded within minutes. Children had gone to sleep at about 11.30 and began waking around 13.30. Staff moved those awake into an adjacent room while one educator remained to lift beds into storage positions.
Some children returned to the rest room during this process. At the same time, the educator raised one of the beds without realising a child remained inside. The child slid into a gap between the bed and the wall and became trapped.
Emergency services received a call at 13.44. Police arrived at 13.50 but lacked equipment to dismantle the structure. Rescue services reached the scene at 13.53 and freed the child after removing part of the bed assembly. Resuscitation began at once and a helicopter medical unit arrived at 13.57. The child was taken to hospital at 14.49.
The investigation found no technical fault in the bed. The mechanism allows a gap of about 15 to 17 centimetres to form between the bed and the wall when raised. If a child slips into that space, the bed position cannot be reversed.
“The bed mechanism allows a situation where a child can slide into the gap and the position cannot be changed after that,” said lead investigator Hanna Tiirinki in a statement.
The authority said staff levels met legal requirements at the time. The group included nine children aged between one and two and a half years and three educators. No specific written guidance existed for the use of these beds, and staff had not received dedicated instruction.
According to the report, lifting and lowering the beds formed part of routine tasks and practices varied between centres. The presence of children during the process increased risk.
“Children’s overall safety must be ensured in daycare. Responsibility lies with both the organiser of early education and the staff,” Tiirinki said.
The authority issued a formal safety alert to the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency and the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health. Municipal early education providers also received the alert.
The report states that the risk relates to use rather than product failure. A protective panel exists on lower beds to prevent objects from falling into the gap, but the upper bed has only a low end panel designed to hold the mattress in place.
After the incident, the City of Vantaa instructed all daycare centres that no children must be present when beds are raised. Authorities across Finland have begun reviewing similar equipment and procedures.
Police continue a separate criminal investigation into suspected causing of death through negligence.
HT
