ABSTRACT
Intentional firesetting has very significant consequences for individuals, communities, and the economy. There were 79,700 deliberate fires in the UK in 2005, resulting in 111 fatalities and 2,700 non-fatal injuries (Department of Communities and Local Government, 2007). In the US in the same year, deliberate fires caused 490 deaths and 9,100 non-fatal injuries (Hall, 2007). Government research estimates the direct costs of arson to the economy of England and Wales to be £2.2 billion per annum (Canter and Almond, 2002).
