Module 3 - Arson and Explosives

Arson is the intentional burning of private or public property. Half of arson fires are set outdoors (such as wooded or grassy areas, parks, construction sites), 30% are set inside houses or other buildings, and 20% involve vehicles. Vacant and abandoned buildings are often targets for arsonists. Arson incidents are fourteen times more likely in poor neighbourhoods than in high income neighbourhoods.

Sometimes arsonists target forested or grassy areas. Such uncontrolled fires have a number of different names usually depending upon which type of vegetation is set on fire (such as forest fire, grass fire, peat fire, or bushfire). Often these wildfires get out of control and destroy nearby houses or agricultural resources. Heat waves, droughts, and high winds can dramatically increase the size of the area consumed by a wildfire.

Motives for Arson

The motivations for committing acts of arson vary. Psychiatrists and social and behavioural researchers have found five main motivations for arson. These are revenge, excitement, vandalism, crime concealment, and financial profit.

Arson for Revenge: The majority of arson crimes are acts of revenge. The incident that causes an arsonist to seek revenge may be real or imagined and often occurs months or years before the arson.

Disagreements or feelings of jealousy are common causes of this crime. Revenge arson is focused often on an individual’s home, property, or place of business. However, domestic violence is also a common cause of revenge arson. The goal of the culprit in this case may be to cause personal injury or to commit murder. Disgruntled young arsonists often will set fire to school property. This type of arson tends to be well planned, and the culprit’s attempt to conceal his or her identity is often ineffectual.

Cases of revenge-seeking arson fires have also been documented as being started by firefighters hoping to injure a superior or co-worker. In these cases, the disgruntled firefighter usually is extremely angry because he/she has lost his/her job or has had grievances or complaints filed against him/her.

Arson for Excitement: Sadly, the second leading motive of arsonists is simply the need for excitement. Boredom, the need for attention, and the enjoyment that the arsonist gets from watching firefighters fight the blaze are all possible compounding factors. In these cases, the targets tend to be large and often outdoors (such as wooded areas, parks, construction sites, arenas). Sometimes these arsonists target a number of homes in a residential area (such as garages, backyards, dumpsters). Usually, this type of arson occurs at night and the arsonist is intoxicated at the time of the offense.

Some arsonists set fires because they are excited by the prospects of being seen as heroes. After these arsonists set fire to their targets, they attempt to rescue endangered people or try to extinguish the fire. The "hero effect" is often a desire of firefighters who are bored by a lack of fires or are seeking attention for their supposed bravery.

Arson for Vandalism: The third leading motive of arson is vandalism. This type of arson tends to be caused by two or more male juveniles who set the fire together. Reasons for these youngsters to commit such crimes include family difficulties or peer pressure from ‘friends’. Targets in these cases are often vacant or abandoned buildings. Fire departments must respond to there fires promptly and aggressively out of concern for any transient or homeless people that may be inside. Sometimes arson vandals are brazen and will attack non-vacant buildings such as schools, homes, or churches.

Arson for Crime Concealment: Crime-concealment arsonists set fire to places in which they have committed crimes in an attempt to destroy evidence that might implicate them or prove that crimes have occurred. The crime that such an arsonist tends to conceal is burglary, but sometimes it can be a murder. Such fires are usually set at night in unoccupied homes or places of business.

Arson for Profit: Interestingly, arson motivated by profit is the least common motive for arson. In these cases, the possibility of financial gain drives an arsonist to set fire to his or her own property (home or business) with the intention of filing a fraudulent insurance claim afterwards. Arson for profit is usually committed by adults and rarely is committed by juveniles because they seldom own any property. Very often, the arsonist in these cases is under extreme financial pressure. In general, such fires tend to occur during the day in unoccupied homes or other buildings.