The Suffolk Fire & Rescue Department, U.S. Fire Administration and their partners used the week of May 1-7 to focus attention on wildfire arson. Arson and other human-caused wildland fires pose a serious threat to lives, property and natural resources. Conditions are predictably precarious in areas where homes intermingle with forests and grasslands. The National Association of State Foresters cites more than 72,000 U.S. communities are now at risk from wildfire.

During the five-year period 2010-2014, 23 percent of wildfires reported were arson. Annually, more than half a million wildfires are set by arsonists, resulting in more than $3 billion in damages.

Arson is the willful, malicious, intentional and/or reckless burning of someone else’s, or one’s own, property. Wildfire arson takes place on wildland that is undeveloped or uncultivated land composed of forest, brush or grassland. Not all wildland is composed of forests. In many places, the wildland is grassy plains resulting in the evolution of the term forest fire to the more accurate wildfire.

Whether referred to as grass fires, forest fires, wildland fires, or a variety of other names, these fires pose an evolving threat to lives and property in an increasing number of communities across the United States.

The Suffolk Fire Marshal’s Office offers the following fire safety tips:

• Install a residential fire sprinkler system in your home — working smoke alarms and fire sprinklers reduces the likelihood of dying in a fire by more than 82 percent.
• Use fire-resistant materials when building, renovating or retrofitting structures.
• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, particularly near and in sleeping areas.
• Create a safety zone or defensible space to separate the home from combustible plants and vegetation.
• It takes a community to protect a community. Informed, alert communities play a critical role in keeping our nation safe. Report unfamiliar vehicles to local law enforcement.
• Build a disaster emergency kit.
• Make evacuation plans from your home and from work and plan several routes in case the fire blocks an escape route.

For more information on National Arson Awareness Week, visit www.usfa.fema.gov/aaw.