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  • May 5-11, 2024
  • This event has ended.

Arson Awareness Week, May 5-11

Protecting Houses of Worship — Fire as a Weapon

    Did you know: A simple locked door could be the deterrent that saves a congregation from experiencing arson.

    • Share on:
    • #AAW
    The fire service can help communities reduce the occurrence of arson and reduce its devastating effect by making residents aware of the following measures to safeguard their church, mosque, synagogue, temple or chapel.

    Webinar: Protecting Houses of Worship From Arson

    The U.S. Fire Administration, in collaboration with the National Volunteer Fire Council and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), hosted an Arson Awareness Week webinar. The webinar shares historical aspects of fires involving houses of worship, considerations of best security practices, and ways to work together with your local religious communities to help prevent intentional acts of violence.

    Register to view the webinar

    USFA course offerings

    The USFA’s National Fire Academy offers training for developing community risk assessment processes. The NFA Online self-study courses are free to fire and emergency services personnel, and international students are welcome.

    Introduction to Community Risk Assessment (Q0843) is a new, online, self-study course that empowers the learner with a foundational understanding of the components, benefits and processes of conducting risk assessments. As a prerequisite to the NFA risk reduction program pathway, this course brings all students to the same level of understanding about risk assessments as they progress into more advanced courses. This course uses realistic scenarios to expose students to real-life situations. Students can expect to receive a foundation in vocabulary, working with demographic and community data, and interacting with stakeholders.

    Introduction to Strategic Community Risk Reduction (Q0841) is a new, online, self-study course that empowers the learner with an understanding of what constitutes strategic community risk reduction (CRR). Students explore the history and evolution from fire prevention into all-hazards risk reduction. In addition to identifying the core components that build an effective CRR strategy, students learn how the process can help foster safe, healthy, prepared and resilient communities.

    Messages to share

    Click to copy message.

    Protect houses of worship:

    Illuminate building exterior and entrances. Place motion-activated lighting near entrances. Install lights to cover all sides of the building. Put interior lights on timers.
    Clear obstructions and excess vegetation. Trim or remove shrubbery that blocks the view of the building from the street. Remove excess vegetation and piles of leaves from around the outside of the building.
    Install smoke alarms and a fire sprinkler system. The most effective fire loss prevention and reduction measure for both life and property is the installation and maintenance of fire sprinklers.
    Keep doors locked. Equip external doors with code-compliant hardware and secure them when the facility isn't occupied. Limit and track which members of the congregation have keys and alarm codes.
    Keep windows locked. Use window hardware with spring-loaded bolts that insert through the window frame into the wall frame.
    Clean inside to remove unneeded paper, trash, cleaning supplies, paint cans and other materials that could fuel a fire for an arsonist.

    Social media graphics and stock photos

    social media card: use fire extinguishers on small fires only

    Pictographs

    Pictographs can help overcome literacy barriers by communicating messages with pictures. Our pictographs will help you to communicate fire and arson prevention messages to your community.

    escape plans
    Keep lit candles at least 12 inches from anything that can burn
    When you use candles, place them in a sturdy, safe candle holder that will not burn or tip over.

    Help congregations plan a safety day

    Work with local houses of worship to plan a Fire Safety Day. Here are some ideas for activities to include:

    Fire safety visit

    Teach the congregation about:

    • Fire extinguisher use.
    • Candle use in services and candle alternatives, such as flameless candles.
    • The importance of an automatic fire sprinkler system.

    Inspect for:

    • 2 ways out of every room, e.g., devotion area, study room, kitchen, library, etc.
    • A posted and visible fire escape plan.
    • Placement of smoke alarms, including alert devices for people who are hard of hearing.
    • Cracked or damaged electrical cords and overloaded extension cords or wall outlets.
    • Child locks on cabinets used to store dangerous items, such as poisons, cleaners, matches and lighters.
    • Deadbolt locks that can be easily unlocked by all members of the congregation, especially children and people with disabilities, from the inside without a key.

    Security check

    Encourage the congregation to work with their local police department to identify security weaknesses.

    Clean-up day

    Many of the risks, hazards and safety concerns identified during fire safety and security activities can be fixed during a clean-up day at a house of worship. Specific tasks include trimming trees and shrubbery, cleaning windows, and removing all possible items that can start a fire, like flammable liquids, things that can burn and trash.