City of Reno recently issued the following announcement.
The Reno Fire Department's (RFD) arson prosecution rate is 17 percent higher than the national average. Despite this impressive statistic, there are steps the public can take to limit opportunities for arson at their homes.
May 1–7 is National Arson Awareness Week and the Reno Fire Department is offering tips to prevent your property from being a target. Motives for arson include crime concealment, curiosity, excitement, fraud and vandalism.
Tray Palmer, Fire Marshal for the Reno Fire Department says, “Motivation for arsons vary, but every arsonist seeks out opportunity. The more you take the opportunity away from the arsonist, the probability of that arsonist attacking your property decreases.”
The Reno Fire Department shares what you can do to protect your property from the mind of an arsonist:
- Install lights, covering all sides of the house. Motion-activated lighting, which is inexpensive, should be placed near the entrances. Interior lights on timers give the illusion of an occupied residence.
- Keep combustibles and flammable plants at least five feet from your home's exterior walls. Juniper brush is popular in northern Nevada but very flammable. It looks green from the outside but hides dead and dry vegetation inside. Remove excess vegetation and piles of leaves.
- Clean around your house and garage, removing unused and unneeded paper, trash, cleaning supplies, partial cans of paint, and other materials that could become kindling and fuel a fire for an arsonist.
- Trim or remove shrubbery that blocks the view of the house from the street. During the growing season, bushes and trees may need to be trimmed frequently.
- Keep doors and windows locked. All external doors should be equipped with deadbolts. A simple locked door could be the deterrent that saves a house from arson. The hardware used to lock windows can sometimes be easily forced open. The best type of window hardware has spring-loaded bolts that insert through the window frame into the wall frame.
- Secure abandoned and vacant homes. This may include adding additional locks or boarding up broken windows or other openings with plywood.
- Remove abandoned vehicles. Most car fires are started to cover up other criminal activity or simply as an act of vandalism.
- Install burglar and fire alarm systems or surveillance cameras.
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