The challenge is to develop sentencing for adults and juveniles. In Colorado, for example, USFA grants support a juvenile firesetter prevention program in partnership with a treatment center for abused children. Arson must be tackled on several fronts and people must protect themselves by strengthening prevention and apprehension efforts. Keep boxes, trash, wood and other combustibles away from buildings. Install smoke detectors on each level of your home and check the batteries every month.
Seconds count in any fire.
USFA supports the nation's firefighters with training, fire data analysis, public education and research in fire protection technologies. The text from two fact sheets follows. Arson is the second leading cause of residential fire deaths and accounts for approximately 25 percent of all fires in the United States. One fifth of all property loss is due to arson. The northeast region, however, experienced a 17 percent increase, three times the national average.