Location of Arson Offences: Dwellings

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Arson in dwellings

Around a fifth of all arson attacks in the UK are on residential properties and over 1 in 5 fires in homes are started deliberately.

Malicious dwelling fires cause around £55 million worth of damage each year, and Home Office figures indicate that some 60 people die in deliberate fires each year. About 15% of these are classified as suicides, and 17% result from igniting one's own or another's property. The remainder are unclassified. In addition, of the 14,600 people that are injured annually in fires in homes, over 2,000 of these occur in fires that are started deliberately.

In 1999, the number of such fires in dwellings rose by 4% to 13,800 from 13,400 in 1998; this represents 13% of the total number of 102,900 malicious fires reported in 1999.

Virtually all accidental fires start within a building. In contrast, nearly 10% of malicious fires are started on the outside of the building. Malicious fires were most likely to start in lounges, living rooms and bedrooms. Refuse rooms, corridors and hallways are also prone to malicious fires. (Stears 1999:3).

Multi-occupancy Housing

Not all homes are single family dwellings, buildings such as hostels, houses in multiple occupation (H.M.O.s) and residential care homes have their own, very different problems, particularly in respect to their vulnerability to arson attack. Malicious dwelling fires were more likely to occur in buildings containing more than one household than in any other type of occupancy.

Hostels and houses in multiple occupation usually involve the use of shared facilities. In these premises there may be a degree of overcrowding, different languages may lead to misunderstandings, and disputes can arise over shared areas. These, together with disagreements over noise can eventually lead to arson. Rubbish left on stairways and communal landings where young people congregate has also been the target of deliberate fire setting. This creates a significant threat with large numbers of people trying to escape via a limited number of exits.

Click here for a link to Home Office Statistical Bulletin 13/01 - Fires in the home: findings from the 2000 British Crime Survey

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Malicious Fires in buildings type of occupancy, 1999

Please click here for information on preventing arson in dwelling places