Outdoor Sauna Fire Box Melts On Near West Side

The owner of a newly-built backyard sauna will need to make some repairs after the insulation above a fire box melted and possibly burned.
 
When firefighters arrived, the owner had removed the siding to reveal the Styrofoam insulation. He had sprayed the area with a fire extinguisher and he expressed concern that there might have been fire extension beyond the point of origin.
 
Firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to inspect the structure but found no hot spots. The owner was advised to keep an eye on it for a couple of hours to make sure conditions didn’t change. He was also advised to remove the Styrofoam from around the fire box and replace it—and the wood framing—with a non-combustible material.