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FIR 4305, Fire Investigation and Analysis 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

5. Design arson-related interventions and mitigation strategies. 5.1 Propose an arson intervention and mitigation strategy.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

5.1

Unit Lesson Chapter 8 Pamphlet: Community Arson Prevention Pamphlet: Working Together to Extinguish Serial Arson Pamphlet: Prevent Youth Firesetting Pamphlet: Reducing Residential Arson Pamphlet: Vehicle Arson – A Combustible Crime Article: “Accelerant Detection Canines” Article: “Prevent Wildfire Arson” Article: “Arson Prevention at Houses of Worship” Article: “Reducing Arson at Vacant and Abandoned Buildings” Unit V Project

Reading Assignment Chapter 8: Forensic Laboratory Services In order to access the following resources, click the links below. U.S. Fire Administration. (2010, May). Community arson prevention [Pamphlet]. Federal Emergency

Management Agency. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/arson/aaw10_media_kit.pdf U.S. Fire Administration. (2011, May). Working together to extinguish serial arson [Pamphlet]. Federal

Emergency Management Agency. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/arson/aaw11_media_kit.pdf

U.S. Fire Administration. (2012, May). Prevent youth firesetting [Pamphlet]. Federal Emergency Management

Agency. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/arson/aaw12_media_kit.pdf U.S. Fire Administration. (2013, May). Reducing residential arson [Pamphlet]. Federal Emergency

Management Agency. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/arson/aaw13_media_kit.pdf U.S. Fire Administration. (2014, May). Vehicle arson – A combustible crime [Pamphlet]. Federal Emergency

Management Agency. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/arson/aaw14_media_kit.pdf U.S. Fire Administration. (2015). Accelerant detection canines. Federal Emergency Management Agency.

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/outreach/canine/ U.S. Fire Administration. (2016). Prevent wildfire arson. Federal Emergency Management Agency.

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/outreach/wildfire_arson/

UNIT V STUDY GUIDE

Intervention and Mitigation Strategies

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U.S. Fire Administration. (2017). Arson prevention at houses of worship. Federal Emergency Management Agency. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/outreach/arson_prevention_houses_of_worship/

U.S. Fire Administration. (2018). Reducing arson at vacant and abandoned buildings. Federal Emergency

Management Agency. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/outreach/arson_prevention_abandoned_bldgs/

Unit Lesson This unit will introduce you to arson intervention and mitigation strategies, and for this unit’s assignment, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate what you have learned in making a short podcast that will discuss an intervention or mitigation strategy that you think would be useful in your own community. When considering the topic of arson intervention and mitigation, it touches on almost all areas of arson investigation. It may begin with establishing standards for investigators, involving education for investigators, following consistent and professionally accepted practices, using arson dogs, using laboratory services, and developing educational awareness or prevention programs designed to curb arson in your community. The community must be specifically considered when developing intervention strategies as a campaign targeted toward camping fire safety. Wildland interfaces may not be relevant to a largely urban area, and an identification system for abandoned buildings might not provide much value to an area that is largely forested. Does your community have issues with juvenile fire starters, or should you focus on mischievous teens—or both? Effective arson intervention or mitigation programs are also dependent on what efforts are already taking place in your community. If fires are not being adequately investigated, then just starting a program where every fire has a cause and origin investigation following the nationally recognized guidelines set forth by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) and using the scientific method would be a tremendous improvement in stopping or reducing arson. The more robust your current strategies are, the more challenging it can be to develop innovative programs. The U.S. Fire Administration’s arson awareness campaigns of the last 9 years are an excellent place to look for ideas and then evaluate those ideas against the needs of your community versus the level of service that is already being provided. Once doing some research on your community’s needs, you will be well on your way to creating or developing something that can significantly impact arson in your community. Past U.S. Fire Administration arson awareness campaigns have covered issues such as boarding up vacant structures, preventing arson in houses of worship, preventing wildfire arson, training accelerant detection canines, reducing vehicle arson crime, reducing residential arson, minimizing youth firesetting, reducing arson through a teamwork approach, and educating communities on toy-like lighters. The campaigns are required reading for this unit, so you should carefully review these programs for ideas that may be used in your own departments. The campaigns are briefly covered in the following sections. Toy-Like Lighters If your community is going through a phase where children are playing with fire and/or lighters, then looking at the campaign from 2008 might be a good place to start when combatting this problem. For example, there are several true stories about fires that were started with lighters that appeared to be toys or other objects. Lighters can take on the shape of cars, toys, markers, animals, cameras, and even guns, which makes them that much more dangerous to curious children. There are links to agencies that have worked to eliminate these types of lighters as a good resource if this is an issue that you are facing. Arson for Profit As you learned earlier in this course, profit is one of the key motives arsonists act upon. The campaigns cover many of the arson-for-profit themes that come to mind but also some that you may not initially consider. Good investigators know to look for financial problems as an indicator of a possible motive, but also consider that someone who has a thriving business may be the target of a competitor looking to reduce competition. Arson rates tend to be inversely proportional to the economy. As the economy improves, arson rates tend to decrease, and when the economy is trending downward, we typically see a rise in the rate of arson crimes.

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These may involve homes, cars, businesses, and boats. There are some excellent arson prevention tips and fraud indicators that should be considered when investigating fires. Community Arson Prevention Arsonists make up a very small portion of the population and are a danger to the safety of our communities. Their actions often result in unpredicted consequences such as damage to nearby homes or businesses, injuries to residents, and injury or death to the firefighters who respond to those arson fires. The 2010 campaign focuses on things that a community can do to reduce the chances of arson happening in your area. As was stated earlier, your community must be examined and data should be collected so that the appropriate mitigation and prevention strategies may be developed. There is a step-by-step guide in the 2010 campaign to walk an investigator through this process as well as some recommended prevention projects that you may want to consider modeling in your community. Serial Arson Reduction In your readings in the textbook, you may recall that arsonists are grouped into different types, and a serial arsonist is one who has set three or more fires with a significant cooling-off period between fires. These arsonists are responsible for tremendous property damage and often will not stop until they are injured or apprehended. A team approach will be helpful in working a serial arson case, and there is information available within the 2011 campaign on how to develop a team; this information will prove helpful in any type of arson case. There are reminders on how to conduct a thorough investigation and an overview of issues that often lead to arson cases going unsolved. Youth Firesetting We have studied the differences between arson and incendiary fires, and a great example of those differences (motive and intent) can be seen in the 2012 youth firesetting campaign. While some of these fires may not meet the definition of arson, the consequences are still very real and very dangerous to the children, their families, neighbors, and firefighters. There are resources on successful intervention programs, statistics to consider, and other publications for your further review. There is also a section that covers specific training for investigators who want to specialize or have more in-depth knowledge of this type of firesetter. Please watch the following video on an excellent Youth Firesetter Intervention Program that was put together in the Glendale Fire Department. A key thing to remember is that once a juvenile begins setting fires, he or she typically will not stop unless there is some type of intervention. In order to access the following resource, click the link below. Glendale Arizona. (2014, March 7). Youth firesetter intervention program [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDRMhR6u9zA Click here to access the transcript for the video. Residential Arson Often, an investigator’s first thought on residential arson involves financial motive, but there are many other motives that tie into residential arson—curiosity, vandalism, concealment of another crime, excitement, revenge, and financial motives. As you can see, these areas intertwine with youth firesetting, serial arson, and arson for profit, among others. Interestingly, three-fourths of intentional fires are started outside, but most of the injuries, deaths, and property loss resulted from structure fires (U.S. Fire Administration, 2013). There is information on the Bomb Arson Tracking System (BATS), which is a nationwide information sharing system that investigators can access. There are also other agencies listed within the 2013 campaign that work together to prevent residential arson in the United States. Vehicle Arson All of the motives we looked at in the section above are in play when it comes to vehicle arson as well. The 2014 campaign has some excellent things to look for when attempting to determine if arson is involved in a vehicle fire. There are also some very interesting descriptions of vehicle arson cases, one even involving a teacher who promised two students who were failing her chemistry class that she would give them passing

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grades if they agreed to burn her car for the insurance money (your professor will not be making a similar offer in this class). Vehicle arson cases are some of the most difficult to detect and prosecute for several reasons, which are listed below.

• The fire destroys potential evidence.

• Natural accelerants in vehicles often give the appearance of multiple points of origin.

• There are multiple fuel sources available on every vehicle.

• There are numerous ignition sources on every vehicle. There are training programs and other resources highlighted within the 2014 campaign as well as other agencies who assist in the investigation of these types of incidents. Accelerant Detection Canines The familiar image of the dalmatian as the fire department dog of choice is disappearing and being replaced by retrievers who make up the vast majority of accelerant detection canines in the fire service today. The history of these dogs in the fire service goes back to 1986 when the Connecticut State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives trained a Labrador retriever to alert to 17 different odors of ignitable liquids. Researchers have determined that a dog’s sense of smell is up to 100,000 times as acute as that of a human (Stillwell, 2014). This is because dogs have 40 times as many sensing cells in their noses and another organ in the roof of their mouths that humans do not possess. Arson dogs provide several advantages for an investigator, which are listed below.

• They have no biases.

• They save time. Dogs cover an area in minutes; whereas, an investigator would need days to cover.

• They greatly reduce the number of samples required to be sent to a laboratory for testing.

• They act as a deterrent to arson when the community is aware of their presence.

• They are a great addition to fire prevention and education activities in your community. There is a link to a video on arson dogs in the suggested reading section of this lesson, and the resource is very informative on the State Farm program that provides most of the arson dogs in the United States today. NFPA 921: Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations also has a section dedicated to the proper use of canine teams as an ignitable liquid detection tool (NFPA, 2017). Wildfire Arson Wildfires bring to mind the image of Smokey the Bear and his message that, “Only you can prevent forest fires;” however, many wildfires actually take place in grassy plains or brushy areas. 2018 was a historic wildfire season, especially in California where the Camp Fire in Northern California destroyed more structures than the previous seven worst wildfires combined. This tragic fire also killed more people than the three previous most deadly fires combined (Sergent et al., 2018). Arson is a leading cause of wildfires nationally, and the percentages vary quite a bit from state to state where wildfires are common, with over half of the wildfires in Kentucky being attributed to the work of arsonists (Sergent et al., 2018). There are links to many of the partnering agencies that are concerned with the wildfire problem in America within the 2016 campaign. Arson at Houses of Worship Well over 100 arson fires per year occur in houses of worship in the United States according to BATS, which is only a voluntary reporting system (U.S. Fire Administration, 2017). Of all the fires in houses of worship, about one half are declared to be arson. The 2017 campaign has some excellent ideas for themed days to be held in churches that will assist with reducing the danger of fire and arson. There is also a very good three- step program aimed at reducing arson that could be extended to many other types of structures in a community. There are also handouts and posters that can be printed to help in community awareness of these types of incidents that often have a dramatic impact when a community is stricken with one of these fires.

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Arson in Vacant and Abandoned Buildings According to the U.S. Fire Administration (2018), nearly 24,000 vacant building fires are reported every year, and these result in 75 deaths, 200 injuries, and more than $785 million in property losses. These are staggering statistics when we consider that we are only discussing vacant buildings. A disproportionate share of firefighter injuries occur in these incidents as well. The 2018 campaign has a downloadable evaluation procedure that any community can use to look into its own vacant and abandoned structures. There are also resources on training available for investigators who specifically focus on the challenges associated with dealing with these incidents. Conclusion Solid intervention and mitigation strategies often produce synergistic results; not only do the programs reduce the problem, but publicity surrounding these efforts often makes arsonists more wary of plying their craft where these efforts are taking place. It is similar to a burglar looking to break into a home; he or she will generally bypass the well-lit homes with burglar alarms in favor of poorly lit places that are unprotected. Allentown’s The Morning Call notes that since employing an accelerant detection dog, their arsons have decreased by 52.7% (Williams, 2016). Ideas like these for the prevention of arson may seem to be a new trend in the fire service, but in the suggested reading section for this unit, there is a transcript of a speech given in 1952, and the speech covers some of the same concepts that we are examining in this unit. In this lesson, we have learned that arson intervention and mitigation strategies must be targeted to the needs of the community for which they are designed and then adjusted against the current resources and programming available in your community. In reviewing the textbook and the arson prevention campaigns from the U.S. Fire Administration over the last 9 years, you should have a good understanding of some of the more popular strategies aimed at the reduction of arson fires. Your homework assignment for this unit will help you to develop an intervention strategy that you can use in your own community based upon the factors covered above.

References National Fire Protection Association. (2017). NFPA 921: Guide for fire and explosion investigations. Author. Sergent, J., Petras, G., Gelles, K., & Bacon, J. (2018, November 21). 3 startling facts about California’s Camp

Fire. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/11/20/camp-fire-3-startling- facts/2064758002/

U.S. Fire Administration. (2013, May). Reducing residential arson [Pamphlet]. Federal Emergency

Management Agency. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/arson/aaw13_media_kit.pdf U.S. Fire Administration. (2017). Arson prevention at houses of worship. Federal Emergency Management

Agency. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/outreach/arson_prevention_houses_of_worship/ U.S. Fire Administration. (2018). Reducing arson at vacant and abandoned buildings. Federal Emergency

Management Agency. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/outreach/arson_prevention_abandoned_bldgs/

Williams, K. L. (2016, October 24). Allentown Fire Department arson K9 Judge: Will he win top dog? The

Morning Call. https://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-judge-allentown-police-dog-humane- society-20161023-story.html

Suggested Reading In order to access the following resources, click the links below.

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Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. (n.d.). Accelerant and explosives detection canines. Department of Justice. https://www.atf.gov/explosives/accelerant-and-explosives-detection-canines

Stilwell, V. (2014, August 11). Arson dogs | The arrival (Episode 1) [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dvsUmU3syQ Click here to access the transcript for the video.