Introduction to Fire Safety Management

8.3
Arson
Arson can be defi ned as the deliberate or wilful act of 
setting fi re to a building or item of property, be it an 
industrial property, dwelling house, car or any simi-
lar item. Arson has become the largest single cause of 
major fi res in the UK.
At its worst, arson can lead to loss of life and signifi -
cant fi nancial consequences as in the case of any fi re, 
but persistent and pervasive minor arson attacks also 
establish a strongly detrimental (and visually harmful) 
tone to deprived areas and communities. In some areas, 
arson now accounts for 70% of all fi res, rising to a 
staggering 82% of fi res in certain inner city localities.
The number of arson fi res, both in their own right 
and as a proportion of the total fi res in the UK, attended 
by the fi re service has more than doubled over the past 
decade and now stands in excess of 85 000 per year. 
The number of casualties, as a direct consequence of 
arson attacks, over the same period of time, has shown 
a similar increase in rate.
8.3.1 Causes of arson – why people commit it
Arson is a complex and serious crime which has a wide 
variety of causes that include:
➤
Arson associated with other criminal acts
➤
Arson associated with a grievance
Figure 8.8
Arson attack on a school

---

Introduction to Fire Safety Management
144
➤
Fraudulent 
arson
➤
Arson associated with economic or political 
motivation
➤
Arson associated with mental instability.
Arson associated with other criminal acts
This generally takes the form of an act of criminal dam-
age or similar opportunist vandalism. It may also be 
associated with an attempt to conceal or destroy evi-
dence of another crime such as a break-in, burglary, 
or sabotage of the equipment in the premises or the 
premises itself. Young people are very much associated 
with this form of fi re setting.