Focus on Fire Safety: Communities United Against Arson

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.

Learn what you can do to prevent the devastating effects of arson in your community.

Arson Awareness Week is May 1 - 7

The U.S. Fire Administration and its partners will use the week of May 1-7 to focus public attention on the value of a collaborative effort with law enforcement, fire and emergency service departments, and the community to battle serial arsonists.

The goal for this year's Arson Awareness Week (AAW) is to focus attention on serial arsonists and provide law enforcement, the fire service, and communities with tools and tactics to battle arson in their cities and towns. The USFA is partnering with the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); USAonWatch; National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM); National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC); and the Insurance Committee for Arson Control (ICAC).