Arson Awareness Week approaching
April 27, 2010
St. Charles County, MO
United States Fire Administration announces the 2010 National Arson Awareness Week.
National Arson Awareness week for 2010 is May 2nd to May 8th. This year’s theme is “Community Arson Prevention.” The goal of this year’s Arson Awareness Week is to focus public attention on the horrific crime of arson and provide communities with tools and strategies to combat arson in their neighborhoods, businesses, schools and places of worship.
By drawing people’s attention to the alarming statistics about arson, we hope to expand the resources and help communities to reduce this crime. Many people don’t understand what arson is or the motive behind arson—the crime of deliberately and maliciously setting fires.
Arson robs communities of its valuable assets—lives and property. Arson destroys more than buildings: it can devastate a community resulting in the decline of a neighborhood. This decline can be caused by increased insurance premiums, loss of business revenue and a decrease in property values.
Arson fires do not always burn just one item. Many times they grow out of control, especially if set by amateurs. These blazes often leave clues that fire investigators use to send arsonists to jail for years. Arson fires also can spread fast, sometimes burning adjacent properties and even killing or injuring innocent onlookers and even the arsonists themselves.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, arsonists destroyed nearly $900 million in insured property and killed 295 civilians nationwide in 2007. The United States Fire Administration’s National Fire Incident Reporting System states that the two leading causes of civilian deaths are arson, at 28 percent, and smoking, at 18 percent.
Arson is, by far, the leading cause of property loss, at 26 percent. Every year an estimated average of 316,600 intentional fires are reported to fire departments in the United States causing injuries to over 7,500 firefighters and civilians. In 2006, 10 firefighters died as a result of arson related fires.
Arson can only be stopped by a combined effort and cooperation between citizens and emergency services. Communities can develop a Watch Program, partnering with their local fire departments, law enforcement, insurance providers, business leaders, churches, and local community groups. Communities can reduce the likelihood of Arson related fires and even accidental fires by promoting neighborhood watches and educating their citizens about recognizing and reporting unusual activities to the proper authorities.
The citizens and businesses can also combat this crime by improving the security of their homes and businesses, inside and out. This effort is being mounted in St. Charles County and across the nation against this costly crime and it is starting to show some results. According to the FBI, in 2007, arson offenses decreased 6.7 percent when compared to the data from 2006. With everyone’s help we can continue to decrease this crime.
There are many ways that business owners, property owners, individuals and our citizens can reduce the chances that they could become a victim of arson. Some of them are listed below:
*External and internal security such as locks, alarms, monitoring equipment.
*Remove trash, debris and other combustible materials from around your building.
*Report suspicious people and activity to law enforcement officials.
*Support and join a local Neighborhood Watch program.
*Illuminate the exits, entrances and the property. Arsonists, like burglars, fear the light.
*Make sure your building, vehicles and properties are secured.
*Citizens can call the Missouri Arson Hotline at 1-800-39-ARSON. There is a $5,000 reward fund for information leading to an arrest involving arson.
The Firefighters and Paramedics of the St. Charles County Emergency Services want all of our citizens to be vigilant and involved in making the county a safe place to operate a business or live in a beautiful neighborhood free of arson.
For more information on the crime of arson for profit, please check with your local law enforcement officials or the following link: www.sccesa.org.
From the Wentzville Fire Protection District
Copyright 2010 Neighbors About Town
