Arson
School Arson: Education Under Threat
This document is published for archival/historical purposes. It will not be updated.
Arson attacks on schools exact a huge cost in terms of the damage and disruption they cause. Insurers estimate that just over £65 million worth of insured damage was caused to schools by deliberately started fires in 2001. However, the true cost of arson attacks on schools is much higher as each fire results in the use of resources by the fire brigade and police, while staff, pupils and parents can suffer considerable inconvenience and disruption. Taking these factors into account, a recent Government report estimates the true cost of these fires at £115 million.
Title: School Arson: Education Under Threat
Authors: Arson Prevention Bureau / Association of British Insurers
Number of pages: 16
Date published: June 2003
The common perception is that most deliberately started school fires occur outside of school time, that is, in the evening, weekend or during holidays. However, nearly a third of all school arson fires occur when pupils are in the school, and this proportion appears to be rising.
This report starts by looking at trends in school fires in England and Wales for the period 1990 to 2000.An examination is then undertaken of the characteristics of school-time arson attacks, such as where they start, the timing of fires, where in the country they are more likely to occur and who started them. In order to make a comparison, figures for accidental fires are also given, while sections that examine the characteristics of school- time fires, unless otherwise specified, use figures for the period 1998 to 2000. It should also be noted that the data does not allow a separate analysis by type of school, that is, whether the fire started in a primary, secondary or special school.
Summary of Findings
Since 1994,the number of arson attacks on schools has been in decline – primarily driven by a fall in the number of deliberately started fires occurring outside of school-time. A corresponding fall has not been seen in the number of school arson attacks that occur when pupils are present, and in fact, the last two years (1999 and 2000) have witnessed an increase in this type of fire. This has caused the proportion of all school arson fires represented by school-time attacks increasing from 13% to nearly one-third.
Around a half of all school-time school fires in England and Wales are arson attacks.
Virtually all (97%)of school-time school arson fires are started within a building compared to about three-quarters (77%)of those occurring outside of school-time. During school-time arsonists have better access to internal areas, which may also be more secluded than external areas.
Of deliberately started school-time school fires that occur internally, the majority (59%)started in a cloakroom. In contrast, cloakrooms are one of the least common places for accidental fires to start, accounting for just 5%of all such fires. Also, while arson attacks rarely occur in the kitchen/canteen area, this is one of the most common locations for accidental fires - accounting for a quarter of all such fires. The next most popular locations for school-time school arson fires were classrooms (12%)and storage rooms (11%).
Deliberately started school fires which occur during school-time are more likely to occur between 1pm and 1.59 pm. There is also a suggestion that they are more likely to occur mid-week.
According to fire brigade records, individuals under the age of 18 were responsible for 93% of all intentionally started school-time school fires. Just over a quarter were started by children younger than 7 years old.
Summary of Recommendations
Education
Staff should be made aware of the potential for daytime fires to occur -few schools have risk assessments for fire which mention daytime arson as a potential risk. Head teachers should be aware that they are responsible for the legal requirement to carry out and maintain risk assessments in case of fire.(Fire Precautions [Workplace ] Regulations 1997 [As amended 1999 ]) In particular, staff should be made aware of the danger of children being unsupervised in cloakrooms and corridors.
Parents should be notified about occurrences of fires at their children's school. They should also be informed if arson was the cause or is suspected. This should be repeated whenever an incident occurs.
Fire Safety Awareness sessions, including the risks of malicious calls, provided by the local fire service should be held at regular intervals for all children, including the very young.
Regular fire drills should be undertaken as part of the Risk Assessment and records of them should be kept.
Children should be told regularly that cigarette lighters and matches are not allowed in schools. Any breach should be treated as a serious disciplinary matter.
Children who are suspected of involvement in starting fires should be considered for referral to Fire Service firesetting aversion schemes.(There are different names for these schemes).Consultation with parents or guardians is essential as these schemes are often conducted at home.
Head teachers are asked to consider making fire issues and risks a part of everyday school life.
All fires, no matter how small should be reported to the Fire Brigade. Sometimes waste bin fires and the like are not considered worthy of reporting, or staff feel embarrassed or think of the repercussions. The Fire Brigade will understand and can assist with possible solutions to prevent further occurrences.
Prevention
New schools should be designed and built with arson in mind. An example being that cloakrooms should be constructed with fire resisting walls and ceilings and have self-closing fire doors. Architects responsible for such new projects and existing alterations should consult with Fire Service and Insurance specialists.
Stores in and around the school which contain combustible materials should be kept locked.
Stores that contain chemicals and hazardous materials, often adjacent to chemistry laboratories should be well managed, clean and kept locked. The Fire Brigade should be advised of the location of such rooms for their records.
Waste bins and wheelie bins should be located well away from the buildings, preferably in locked compounds. Waste skips used for any purpose should be located well away from buildings but not near perimeter fences or walls. Litterbins should be emptied before/at start of lunch break and at the end of each school day.
Detection and Protection
Automatic fire detection should be considered and include all escape routes, stores, cloakrooms and high-risk areas.
Coats and other combustibles should not be kept in corridors or escape routes.
Fire doors should be maintained in good working order and closed at all times.
Full cost benefit analysis should be undertaken on the installation of sprinkler systems for all new building projects or substantial refits/renovations.
Automatic detection and fire alarm systems should be connected to a commercial collector station for constant monitoring and immediate transmission of a fire alarm signal to the local authority fire brigade whenever the school is unoccupied.
Unwanted calls such as malicious calls and system faults should be treated seriously and with the highest priority. Malicious calls are a criminal offence and will be reported to the police by the Fire Brigade.
Building Types - Consortium and other lightweight constructions
This type of construction can present a problem for uncontrolled fire spread especially in roof and ceiling void areas. It is strongly recommended that all such constructions be inspected and any weaknesses in fire compartmentation including roof void areas be addressed.
Advice can be obtained on any of the above issues from your Fire Brigade or insurance company.
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Last update: Tuesday, August 26, 2008