Title
To declare the week of May 1st to May 7th, 2016 Arson Prevention Week in Columbus, Ohio.
Body
WHEREAS, Each year for National Arson Awareness Week, the U.S. Fire Administration gathers and shares information to raise awareness of arson or youth fire setting and provide individuals with strategies to combat these problems in their community; and
WHEREAS, The theme of this year's Arson Awareness Week is “Accelerant Detection Canines-Sniffing out Arson” “Prevent Wildfire Arson - Spread the Facts Not the Fire”; and
WHEREAS, In 2015 the Columbus Division of Fire responded to 2,331 fires. Of those fires, investigators were called to conduct 890 investigations. Of those investigations, 405 were determined to be Arson According to the Department of Interior’s Wildland Fire Management Information System, during the five-year period 2010-2014, 23 percent of fires reported were arson; and
WHEREAS, Investigators called for the assistance of an Accelerant Detection K-9 on 98 structures, 28 auto fires, seven article searches, three area searches, and one line up in 2015 According to the U.S. Forest Service, individual arson fires can cause damages to natural resources and communities totaling over a hundred million dollars; and
WHEREAS, An accelerant detection canine is trained to sniff out minute traces of ignitable liquid accelerants that may have been used to start a fire. Each dog is part of a team that is comprised of the canine and its handler According to the National Fire Protection Association during the 2007-2011 period, 20 percent of reported brush, grass or forest fires were intentionally set; and
WHEREAS, We will use the week of May 1-7 to recognize the contribution accelerant detection canines make to the Columbus Division of Fire and the safety of residents in the City of Columbus More than half a million wildfires are set by arsonists each year in the U.S., resulting in over $3 billion in damages; and
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF ...
Click here for full text