- Author
-
Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Title
- Arson in the United States.
- Coporate
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, DC
- Sponsor
- TriData Corp., Arlington, VA
- Report
-
FA 174
August 1997
43 p.
- Contract
- EMW-95-C-4717
- Keywords
-
arson
|
residential buildings
|
fire statistics
|
firesetters
|
fire fighters
|
civil distrubances
|
training
|
fire investigations
- Identifiers
- magnitude of the U.S. arson problem; characteristics of the arson problem; factors contributing to arson; barriers to combating the arson problem
- Abstract
- Arson is a serious problem in the United States. It is the number one cause of all fires, and it annually kills hundreds of Americans, injures thousands more, and causes over $3 billion in damage to property. In each of the past ten years there have been over 500,000 arson fires. During 1994, the most recent year for which information is available, the total number of arson fires in the U.S. was estimated at 548,500. Over 107,000 of these fires occurred in structures, both residential and non-residential. In 1994 arson fires accounted for an estimated 560 fire deaths, 3,440 fire injuries, and $3.6 billion in property damage. This report deals with several different aspects of the arson problem and is divided into three sections. The first section presents data on the magnitude and characteristics of the arson problem. Data from both the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) are included in this section. The second section of this report discusses factors known to cintribute to the incidence of arson, including the motivations of firesetters. The final section addresses several of the challenges faced in dealing with the problem of arson.