Around 90 people die each year in fires in Sweden, and this number has not decreased over the last two decades despite information campaigns and an increase in home fire extinguishers and smoke alarms. A report by SP Sweden for the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agencies tries to assess why.
Fire death rates are decreasing in most developed countries, according to CTIF (CTIF “World Fire Statistics” pinfa Newsletter n° 67), but improvements are particularly strong in Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Russia, the UK and the USA. Declines in the ex-Soviet countries are suggested to be probably due to social changes following the end of Communism here. The assessment concludes that the UK and the USA show increases in smoke alarms and sprinklers comparable to Sweden, and that their reductions in fire deaths are due to fire safety regulations for children’s sleepwear and particularly for upholstered furniture.
“International Fire Death Rate Trends”, D. Winberg, SP Sweden, SP Rapport 2016:32