About 1000 innocent victims die each year in incendiary or suspicious fires and thousands more are injured. Even though no one you know may die because of arson, everyone shares the cost of this crime. Unfortunately it is we, the tax and insurance paying public, that pay the high costs of arson - over a billion each year. In fact, arson fires touch all of society in many ways. For instance, burned out buildings create blighted areas.
Employees lose jobs and income.
Towns and cities lose tax dollars from destroyed industry or homes. If an antique building or museum is destroyed, an irreplaceable piece of our heritage is gone. Personal property and possessions can be damaged or destroyed. Students and parents can lose the use of school buildings. Taxes are increased or diverted from other needed programs to replace buildings and to support expanded anti-arson efforts at the local, state, and federal levels.