Global Q&A Series: Safera is on a Mission to Save Lives

One of the first questions asked to us by Mikko Reinikainen, Co-Founder and Global Head of Sales and Marketing for Safera, was if we knew what percentage of house fires per year were caused by cooking accidents. The answer, according to research he cited from the National Fire Protection Association, would tell you that roughly half of all house fires are the result of incidents in the kitchen. Cooking mishaps are far and away the leading cause of house fires and house fire injuries, according to NFPA. But that’s a statistic that Reinikainen and the Safera team are trying to change.

After more than a decade of working developing their sensor technology, the Finnish-based Safera team has zeroed in on their intelligent stove guarding solution, Safera Sense. Available as either a pre-installed solution in the extractor hood, or as a simple-to-install aftermarket solution, Safera Sense is an incredibly smart product that can monitor all kinds of data around the cooking area. As the stove runs, Safera’s sensors track surface temperature, air quality (based on actual World Health Organization air quality data), acts as an alarm if it notices irregularities, and more. An upgradable version even includes an automatic shutoff function that would prevent any sort of major incident from occurring in an unmonitored cooking environment. And the connected app stores all kinds of information, including past cooking sessions so the user can recall a successful recipe and seamlessly recreate their meal. Of course, because this is the year 2019 after all, there are voice control capabilities integrated into the product as well.

Speaking with Mikko at the recent 2019 IFA Global Press Conference, he told us of ambitions he has for getting their technology pre-installed in every stove that comes to market. And he even showed how his team’s product is on a similar path to that of the smoke alarm. What Safera is doing is certainly noble and, if successful, has the opportunity to save many lives in the years to come.