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47% of All Fires in England are Deliberate and More Needs to be Done says the Arson Prevention Forum

The level of deliberate fires in this country is “totally unacceptable,” says the independent Chairman of the Arson Prevention Forum.

In launching the 2017 State of the Nation report, Lee Howell said: “All organisations with an interest in, or responsibility for, arson reduction must do more if we are to reduce the cost and consequences of deliberate fires.

“The figures are simply staggering and completely unacceptable. Every year, 47 lives are lost and over 76,000 deliberate fires are recorded by Fire and Rescue Services in England. Insurers pay out over £1b in fire-related claims and a large proportion of this relates to deliberate fires. The level of successful prosecutions is also worryingly low and more research is needed to understand why this is the case. Organisations must work collaboratively, sharing information and learning from each other in order to tackle this problem.”

The Arson Prevention Forum is calling on every Police Service, Fire and Rescue Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, Insurers and others to do more to reduce the cost and consequences of deliberate fires. Its latest report can be found here www.stoparsonuk.org