Arson in the United States

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Executive Summary

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.

For many years the general populace has perceived arson as primarily an insurance concern -- an invisible "paper loss" crime with limited impact on anyone other than insurers. But for the firefighters who have been injured or killed responding to set fires and the hundreds of civilians killed each year in incendiary or suspicious building fires, arson looms as a significant issue that is anything but invisible or limited. The time has come to correct the public's perception so that arson is understood for what it is -- a violent crime that terrorizes, kills, and injures.

Investigators increasingly report that fire is chosen as a weapon by jilted lovers, delinquent youths, rival gang members, and drug pushers. Investigators are also becoming more aware of Molotov cocktails and pipe bombs being used as incendiary devices. Fires caused by explosives or motivated by spite and revenge tend to be more deadly because they often target residential structures, in keeping with the desire to inflict personal harm. As arson increasingly becomes a crime against persons, it becomes critical to have sufficient research and resources available to adequately address the magnitude of the arson problem in the U.S.