Risken att omkomma genom brand har mer än halverats under de senaste 60 åren i Sverige. Det är idag mycket ovanligt att små barn omkommer i brand men samma positiva utveckling kan inte ses för de äldre. En åldrande befolkning som i ökande omfattning förväntas bo kvar hemma innebär att denna grupp måste prioriteras i framtida brandskyddsarbete. Sambearbetning av data från tre nationella register visar att rutinmässigt framtagen statistik systematiskt underskattar den verkliga situationen. Män, äldre, ensamboende och ekonomiskt svaga är särskilt riskutsatta grupper att omkomma vid bostadsbränder och förekomst av alkohol bland offren är mycket vanligt. Den i särklass vanligaste brandorsaken är rökning. Trots att varje dödsbrand är unik kan det omfattande materialet beskrivas av relativt få och tydligt avgränsade typer av händelser som var och en måste mötas med relevanta preventiva insatser. Avhandlingen visar att dödsbränder i bostäder i huvudsak är ett socialt problem och att det kommer att krävas uthålliga och breda strategier, bestående både av sociala och tekniska åtgärder för att skydda de mest riskutsatta och sårbara människorna i samhället.

In Sweden, more than 100 people die in fires every year and there is a societal goal of decreasing the risk of fire-related deaths. A goal-orientated prevention approach needs to be credibly underpinned with an understanding of the extent of the problem, its causes and risk factors, aspects that have largely been missing in Sweden. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was to analyze fatal fires and fatalities in Sweden from an epidemiological perspective. The historical trends show that the risk of dying due to fire has decreased by more than 50% over the last 60 years in Sweden, with the largest decline being seen amongst children. In Sweden today, the risk of young children dying in a fire is very low. However, the risk of dying in fires has not declined to the same extent among elderly. In light of the aging Swedish population, older people must therefore be a priority in future fire protection. To investigate fire fatalities, data from three different national registers were combined. By combining the three sources, it was clear that the present routine statistics systematically underestimate the true situation. In-depth analysis regarding residential fires show that men and elderly are particularly at risk, as well as people living alone, as well as those on low income, social security benefits and health-related early-retirement benefits. The most common cause of fire was smoking and the presence of alcohol among the victims was very common. When combined, the extensive material can be simplified and described by well-defined clusters that each can be meet with relevant preventive efforts. Crucially, however, it is clear that mortality in residential fires is essentially a social problem and improving the protection of the most vulnerable people in society needs to be ascertained through sustained and holistic strategies, consisting of both social and technical measures. To establish and facilitate this, a cross-sectoral approach within municipalities and central government is needed.