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The U. S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) have teamed up to promote arson awareness around the country. |
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Each year these organizations designate an Arson Awareness Week designed to raise the public consciousness regarding this serious national problem which causes loss of life and major destruction to homes, businesses, and natural resources. |
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This year's theme was
Wildfire Arson – Preparedness and Prevention |
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This theme was chosen because, increasingly, arson and other uncontrolled wildland fires pose a serious threat to lives, property, and natural resources in our rural and suburban communities. Conditions are particularly hazardous in the wildland-urban interface, where structures and other human developments meet or intermingle with forests and grasslands |
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Per the USFA and IAAI, the damage associated with wildland arson, acreage and dollar losses is more than all other causes associated with wildland fires. The increased risk of wildland fires, associated with the rapid development of structures in the wildland-urban interface, makes it all that more important to develop arson prevention and preparedness programs. |
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The following incidents were compiled by USFA from online newspapers across the United States during March of 2006 alone: |
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OKLAHOMA CITY, Mar. 2, 2006 |
TEXAS PANHANDLE, March 14, 2006 |
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Authorities took one man into custody on suspicion of arson and were searching for another after a wildfire in southwestern Oklahoma destroyed at least 30 homes and forced the evacuation of two schools, a nursing home and area businesses. The fire was one of several fueled by gusty winds and high temperatures, and firefighters remained at the scene for a second day Thursday. Seven firefighters have been injured while fighting the blazes. |
On Monday, firefighters struggled to stop the fires that were blamed for the deaths of 11 people, four of them in a crash on a smokeshrouded highway over the weekend. Four more bodies were found Monday evening in a car that had crashed into a ravine, and authorities suspected those deaths were also caused by the wildfires. About 1,900 people in seven counties were evacuated. Eleven fires burned across an estimated nearly 700,000 acres Monday, up from 663,000 over the weekend. State fire crews fought more than 160 blazes in one 24-hour period. |
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CHARLOTTE, FLORIDA - March 21, 2006 |
NORTH CAROLINA, March 22, 2006 |
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An investigation into Monday’s brush fire in Charlotte County has turned into a criminal investigation after fire officials ruled the fire was deliberately set. The fire burned about thirty acres in Port Charlotte near El Jobean. |
Forecasts for rain early this week may help dangerously dry conditions that have already contributed to more than 1,000 wild fires across the state for the month of March. So far this month, 1,545 fires have destroyed more than 8,120 acres in the state. |
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Steps that
you can take to prevent arson and protect yourself and your community are: |
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Contact your local fire or police department if you know or suspect an arson
crime.
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Report suspicious activity near houses or other buildings.
Support Neighborhood Watch programs.
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Keep leaves and flammable debris away from buildings. Don’t make it easy for an
arsonist to start a fire or facilitate a fire’s spread to adjacent buildings.
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Keep matches and lighters out of reach of small children.
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In addition to the above, the State Fire Marshal's Office created the Arson Hotline on May 1, 2000, to assist arson investigators around the state to stop intentionally set fires. The Arson Hotline number is 1-877-4 FIRE 45 or 1-877-434-7345. The phone number is manned 24 hours a day and its calls are sent to state arson investigators for review. |
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When a call to the Arson Hotline results in an arrest or conviction, the informant becomes eligible for a reward. Each anonymous caller who provides worthwhile information is given a tracking number. With this number the caller can stay in touch with the Arson Hotline to see if the information leads to an arrest. |
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For more information: |
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USFA Arson Awareness |
International Association of Arson Investigators |
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