Last week we discussed the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) definition of an accidental fire cause and types of accidental fires. Today we will cover incendiary fires.
Incendiary fires are defined as fires that are deliberately set with the intent to cause the fire to occur in an area where the fire should not be. “Definitions” NFPA 921Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations. 8th ed. Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 2014. 17 Print 3.3.108.
It is important to note that not all incendiary fires are arson. As an example, if someone were to start a fire in an abandoned building in order to keep warm, and that fire “got away from them” resulting in the building catching on fire, it would be an accidental, incendiary fire. Although the individual started the fire on purpose in a location it should not have been, (incendiary), it was not their intent to catch the building itself on fire (accidental).
Arson is the crime of intentionally lighting things on fire with malicious intent. We will talk about arson in more detail later in this series.
Series 2, post 6
