Arson Awareness Week Starts Sunday: Help Reduce Residential Arson

April 29, 2013

Next week, May 5-11, is Arson Awareness Week. Use this opportunity to focus public attention on residential arson and provide your community with tools to reduce the incidence of this crime. The goal of this year’s event is to provide all residents with strategies to combat arson.

The U.S. Fire Administration provides a web site at www.usfa.fema.gov/aaw with tools and resources to help fire departments and communities implement the campaign. These include training, promotional materials, statistics and facts, sample documents, and more.

“Arson is a devastating crime – killing and injuring hundreds of individuals each year,” said United States Fire Administrator Ernie Mitchell. “Arson destroys neighborhoods and shatters lives. I encourage all residents to team-up with local fire department and law enforcement officials to put an end to arson in their community.”

The public can be engaged in Arson Awareness Week by implementing neighborhood clean-ups along with improving internal and external security for their homes and abandoned properties. Fire departments and Fire Corps teams can hold events, distribute information, and find opportunities to promote arson awareness and prevention messages to their communities and encourage long-term action.

For more information and resources for the 2013 Arson Awareness Week campaign, visit www.usfa.fema.gov/aaw.