ANLAGD BRAND i skolor och förskolor : Trender och uppföljning av åtgärder

In 2007, a research program was launched to provide an overview of research needs coupled to arson in Swedish schools. A total of six different Swedish universities and research institutes were involved in different projects in the ensuing research program. These projects involved both technical aspects such as fire detection and fire protection as well as sociological issues related to individual neighbourhoods and fire-setters. The work presented in this report represents an updated investigation of the school arson problem in Sweden with a focus on technical aspects of fire safety in schools. The work includes a detailed study of statistics, a case study and an interview study. It is identified that there are slightly fewer costly exterior fires during nights and weekends than in the previous study; however, there has been a clear increase of less severe fires in recent years. This is worrying as these fires occur during school hours when there is a greater risk of personal injury. It is noted that the trend of arson fires follows the development of police reports for vandalism. This may indicate that fires in the school environment are not an isolated problem, but an expression of a societal problem with increasing vandalism. Even so, the interview study shows that there is a great awareness of the problem in many municipalities and there efforts are being made to reduce the problem. Finally, a risk assessment methodology is presented as means to identify at risk objects which might require additional prioritised attention to mitigate existing heightened risks. (Less)