A Swedish fire ban closes the fire pit, not the kitchen. Your gas or spirit stove keeps working under both tiers, on one condition about where you put it. One popular stove type doesn’t make the cut, though.
When you need this
A fire ban is on where you’re camping and you want to know if dinner is still possible. Or you’re packing for a summer trip and choosing between a gas stove and a wood-burning one. Or it’s raining, and the tent vestibule is looking tempting.
What the ban text actually says
Swedish fire bans (eldningsförbud) are regulations issued by a county administrative board or a municipality. Almost all of them follow two model texts written by the national civil-protection agency, MSB. It was renamed Myndigheten för civilt försvar on 1 January 2026, so you’ll see both names.
The two texts treat stoves differently, but both leave you able to cook:
| Tier | What the model text bans | What happens to your stove |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary eldningsförbud | Fire, grilling and other burning with solid fuels: wood, charcoal, briquettes, grass, twigs, branches | Not covered at all: gas and liquid fuels are outside the ban |
| Stringent skärpt eldningsförbud | All of the above plus burning gas and liquid fuels | Expressly exempted: cooking equipment running on gas or liquid, placed so the danger of ignition and spread is low |
The agency explains its reasoning in its guidance: cooking on gas or liquid equipment isn’t a significant fire risk, so banning it wouldn’t be proportionate. What the stringent tier does catch is other gas burning, and the agency’s own example is weed burning with a gas torch.
Real decisions follow the model. Östergötland’s county-wide ban of 11 August 2026 told the public that it did not apply to burning gas, and that a stormkök running on, for example, T-röd was not covered either. It still urged great caution. The Stockholm and Gotland rescue services publish the same split for both tiers.
The local decision is still what binds you. The model is guidance on how to write a ban, not the ban itself, so read the sentence about cooking in the decision for where you’re standing. Fire bans explained shows how to find it.
Which stoves are allowed
| Stove type | Ordinary ban | Stringent ban |
|---|---|---|
| Gas canister stove (gaskök, gasolkök) | Yes | Yes, placed safely |
| Spirit stove on denatured alcohol (T-röd, T-sprit) | Yes | Yes, placed safely |
| Liquid-fuel stove | Yes | Yes, placed safely |
| Gas grill | Yes | Yes, placed safely |
| Wood-burning, twig or wood-gas stove | No | No |
| Solid-fuel tablet stove | Treat as no | Treat as no |
| Charcoal or disposable barbecue in nature | No | No |
The trap is the wood-burning stove. It looks like a stove, but it burns wood and twigs, which is exactly what both tiers ban. Bring one as your “fire-ban option” and you’ve brought the one stove type that’s banned.
Solid-fuel tablets aren’t named in any official text we found. They aren’t gas or liquid either, though, and only gas and liquid are exempt. That’s our reading of the model, so treat a tablet stove as banned.
For open fires, fixed fire places and disposable barbecues under each tier, see campfire rules.
The placement condition
The stringent-tier exemption covers stoves placed so that the danger of ignition and spread is low. That makes where you put the stove a legal condition, not just a safety tip.
A stove on bare gravel is inside the exemption. The same stove on dry moss arguably isn’t using it at all, and if it tips and lights the ground you may be in breach of the ban. Breaching a ban, deliberately or through carelessness, is punishable by fines. Separately, Swedish tort law makes anyone who negligently causes property damage pay for it.
Good spots are bare gravel, sand, mineral soil or a flat rock. They need to be clear of dry moss, grass, needles and overhanging branches, and well away from the tent. An existing fire place makes a good stove spot too: it’s already cleared and non-flammable, even when it’s closed to open fire.
How to cook legally during a ban
- Find the decision for the municipality you’re in. Open the fire-ban map on krisinformation.se, click your municipality and follow the link to the decision. The Brandrisk Ute app (Fire Danger Outdoors) shows the same status by GPS.
- Read the one sentence about cooking. Check whether it exempts cooking equipment running on gas or liquid. Most decisions do.
- Check protected-area rules separately. Some national parks have their own rules on how camping stoves may be used, whatever the ban says.
- Pick a non-flammable spot outdoors, as above.
- Set the stove level and stable before lighting, and keep water within reach.
- Stay with it while it burns. An unattended stove can’t meet the “no risk of spread” test.
- Let it cool and pack it away, checking that nothing around it is smoldering.
Screenshot the decision’s cooking sentence with its date. If anyone questions your stove, that’s the text that matters.
Never cook inside the tent
The real danger with a stove is carbon monoxide, not the ban. Fjällsäkerhetsrådet, Sweden’s mountain-safety council, says camping stoves of any fuel type are for outdoor use only. In the mountains that includes never cooking inside a rastskydd, the trail rest shelter.
Finland’s safety agency, Tukes, tested camping stoves and warns that a stove must not be used at the tent opening or inside the tent. One stove used with a windscreen reached nearly 9,000 ppm of carbon monoxide, against the standard’s 2,000 ppm limit. That level is life-threatening within minutes. The windscreen starved the flame, so be careful with accessories that weren’t made for your stove.
The same logic applies at a campsite. Brandskyddsföreningen, the Swedish fire protection association, says never to grill in an awning or tent, because glowing charcoal gives off carbon monoxide. Keep any grill at least a meter from tents and caravans, on a flat, non-flammable surface.
Rain and cold are when people move the stove inside. Cook under the open sky, or eat something that doesn’t need cooking. More on shelters in mountain safety.
Flying with a stove
Transportstyrelsen, the Swedish Transport Agency, bans propane and butane from both cabin and checked baggage, and fuel isn’t allowed either. The stove itself can fly if it’s cleaned, free of fuel residue and has no cartridges attached. So bring the burner and buy canisters or spirit after you land. Airlines can add their own rules, so check yours too.
Motorhome travelers with bottled gas face different rules. LPG gas bottles in Sweden covers those, plus which gas works in the cold.
Practical information
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Gas or liquid-fuel stove, ordinary ban | Allowed: outside the ban’s scope |
| Gas or liquid-fuel stove, stringent ban | Allowed if placed so ignition and spread are unlikely |
| Wood-burning or twig stove | Banned under both tiers |
| Gas grill | Allowed under the same cooking exemption |
| Where to check | The decision linked from krisinformation.se’s fire-ban map; Brandrisk Ute app |
| National parks | Some have their own stove rules |
| Inside tents or shelters | Never, whatever the fuel |
| Gas canisters on flights | Banned in cabin and checked baggage |
| Penalty for breaching a ban | Fines (böter), scaled to income |
| A fire you start | You pay for the damage, separately from any fine |
| Emergency | 112 |
FAQ
Can I use a camping stove during a fire ban in Sweden?
Yes, in almost every case. The national model regulation leaves gas and liquid-fuel cooking equipment outside an ordinary ban entirely and expressly exempts it from a stringent one, provided it stands where ignition and spread are unlikely. The local decision is the legally operative text, so read it for the municipality you are in before cooking.
Is a wood-burning or twig stove allowed during an eldningsförbud?
No. Both model regulations ban burning solid fuels, meaning wood, charcoal, briquettes, twigs and branches, and a twig or wood-gas stove burns exactly those. The exemption covers only equipment fueled by gas or liquid. Solid-fuel tablets are not named, but they are not gas or liquid either, so treat a tablet stove as banned too.
Can I use a gas grill during a Swedish fire ban?
Usually yes. The ordinary model ban covers only solid fuels, and the stringent one exempts cooking equipment running on gas or liquid when placed so the fire risk is low. Östergötland’s county-wide ban of August 2026, for example, stated that it did not apply to gas. Charcoal and disposable barbecues burn solid fuel and fall under the ban.
Can I cook with a stove inside my tent or a shelter?
No. Fjällsäkerhetsrådet, Sweden’s mountain-safety council, says camping stoves of every fuel type are for outdoor use only, because of carbon monoxide and fire. Finland’s safety agency measured nearly 9,000 ppm of carbon monoxide from one stove used with a windscreen, life-threatening within minutes. Cook in open air, well away from the tent opening.
Can I bring gas canisters for my camping stove on a plane to Sweden?
No. Transportstyrelsen, the Swedish Transport Agency, lists propane and butane as banned in both cabin and checked baggage, and fuel is not allowed either. The stove itself may travel if it is cleaned, free of fuel residue and without cartridges. Buy canisters or liquid fuel after you land, and check your airline’s own rules too.
What happens if my stove starts a fire during a ban?
Being allowed to use a stove does not shield you. The stringent exemption applies only where the danger of ignition and spread is low, so a stove knocked into dry moss can put you in breach of the ban, risking a fine, and Swedish tort law makes you pay for negligent damage. If a fire spreads, call 112 immediately.
Do Swedish national parks have their own stove rules?
Some do. Sveriges Nationalparker, the national parks’ official website, notes that certain parks have special rules on how camping stoves may be used, and that when a fire ban is issued no fire may be lit anywhere in a park. Read the regulations linked from the park’s own page before you go, and follow them over any general advice.
Related guides
- Fire bans explained: how to find the decision for exactly where you’re standing
- Campfire rules in Sweden: open fires, fixed fire places and disposable barbecues under each tier
- Wild camping in Sweden: where you’ll be cooking, and the rules for pitching there
- Mountain safety: rest shelters, weather and the stove-indoors danger
- Camping with kids: where stove safety matters most
Facts verified 2026-09-24. Sources: Myndigheten för civilt försvar (formerly MSB), Riksdagen, Krisinformation.se, Länsstyrelsen Östergötland, Storstockholms brandförsvar, Region Gotland, Sveriges Nationalparker, Fjällsäkerhetsrådet, Tukes, Brandskyddsföreningen, Transportstyrelsen. Full register in this topic’s source file. Current fire-ban status is never published here; check the decision for your municipality. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.