Fire Prevention
State Fire Marshal's Office in Des Moines
Call: 1-800-532-1459
Toll Free Arson Hotline
Each year over 500 people are killed because of arson fires and cause 2 billion dollars in property damage.
A quarter of all fires are arson and over half of them are set by juveniles.
Youth Firesetting/Juvenile Arson Statistics
National Statistics
- Juvenile firesetting accounts for half of all arrests for arson since 1994.
- 41,900 child child experimentation fires were reported in the U.S. according to the National Fire Protection Associations "Children Playing with Fire."
- Civilian deaths caused by juvenile firesetting were reported at 165.
- Civilian injuries caused by juvenile firesetting were 1,901.
- Total in direct damages caused by juvenile fire was $272 million.
- The median age of children who started fires by experimentation was 5 years old.
- Six to eight percent of all those arrested for arson are under age 10, a higher percentage than any other crime.
- Most children who experiment with fires start them with lighters or matches.
- The majority of child experimentation fires are started in bedrooms.
Iowa Statistics
- 10-15% of all fires reported are the result of arson.
- Arson fires result in approximately $15 million in property damage per year.
- Nearly half of all arson fires reported in Iowa are started by juveniles.
- Information from Iowa Department of Public Safety and State's Fire Marshal