You’ve probably wondered what it’d be like to stay in Sweden’s Icehotel, or similarly frigid accommodations. But you may have neglected to consider the danger posed by fire in these facilities. How shortsighted of you.
Swedish officials, on the other hand, are on top of the situation and recently mandated that Icehotel, in the town of Jukkasjärvi, install fire alarms just like any other hotel or residential building. And Icehotel is politely complying. Because it’s Sweden.
The AFP interviewed spokesperson Beatrice Karlsson who spoke diplomatically about the situation. “There are things that can actually catch fire, like pillows, sleeping bags or reindeer skins,” she said. “It’s been a challenge for our building team, but it made us one experience richer.”
Since the hotel is rebuilt each winter after melting during the summer, it’s as complicated as you might expect to add a smoke detector system to the construction specifications. But apparently the detectors have already been installed. There haven’t been any fires yet, probably because of the whole made-out-of-ice thing, but the detectors did go off when a guest tried to smoke a cigarette in a closet. Honestly, you gotta watch those reindeer skins every minute so they don’t spontaneously combust. [Time]