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Focus on Fire Safety: Communities United Against Arson

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/focus/arson.shtm

Arson can devastate a community, resulting in the decline of the neighborhood through increased insurance premiums, loss of business revenue, and a decline in property values.

Arson is difficult to prosecute, but the effects are felt throughout the community: workers lose jobs, towns and cities lose tax dollars, burned buildings create blighted areas, and innocent people are injured or killed.

Uncontrolled arson, along with other serious crime, creates rampant fear among residents, business customers, and potential visitors. If the community’s streets seem out of control, people will be afraid to come into that area to visit or do business. These conditions can quickly lead to a second stage where residents who can afford to move out begin selling homes, even at a loss, to escape before the bottom drops out. Property tax collections plummet, giving the community less and less resources to fight back.


What Can You Do?

Keep leaves, firewood, overgrown brush and shrubbery, and other combustibles away from buildings.
Keep doors and windows locked when a building is unoccupied. Board up abandoned buildings.
Store all flammable liquids such as paints, gasoline, and aerosols in an approved storage location, e.g., locked cabinets, locked storage units, locked garages (preventing access to kids), etc.
Report suspicious activity near houses or other buildings to the local police and support Neighborhood Watch programs.

If you are interested in starting your own Neighborhood Watch Program, you can find many helpful resources at www.usaonwatch.org.
If you know or suspect that arson was committed, contact your local fire department.
Most importantly…be prepared for a fire!
One of the best ways to protect yourself and your family is to have a working smoke alarm. A working smoke alarm greatly
reduces your chances of dying in a fire.

Make and practice a home fire escape plan and set a meeting place outside. Be sure everyone in your family knows at least
two escape routes from their bedrooms.

Related Topics

Community Arson Prevention
Topical Fire Reports Series: Intentionally Set Fires
Coffee Break Training: Abandoned Buildings (PDF, 178 Kb)
Fire Safety Information for Teachers, Parents and Children
Related Publications (Download, Help)

Arson and Juveniles: Responding to the Violence (PDF, 599 Kb)
Arson Prevention for America's Churches and Synagogues (PDF, 1.6 Mb)
Board Up Procedures (PDF, 141 Kb)
Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Handbook (5.9 Mb)
Juvenile Firesetting - A Growing Concern (383 Kb)
Protecting Structures from Arson (2.3 Mb)
Links of Interest

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting
Insurance Committee on Arson Control
International Association of Arson Investigators
International Association of Special Investigation Units
Juvenile Firesetting: A Research Overview (PDF, 362 Kb)
National Fire Protection Association
National Insurance Crime Bureau

Last Reviewed: May 8, 2008