View source for Arson

{{Short description|Intentional burning of property as a crime}}
{{Redirect|Arsonists}}
{{About|the crime}}
{{Globalize|1=article|date=June 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2020}}
[[File:Kyoto animation arson attack 1 20190721.jpg|thumb|280px|right|The remains of [[Kyoto Animation]] Studio 1 after [[Kyoto Animation arson attack|being set ablaze by an arsonist]]]]
{{Criminal law}}
{{terrorism}}

'''Arson''' is the act of willfully and deliberately setting [[fire]] to or charring [[property]]. Although the act of arson typically involves [[building]]s, the term can also refer to the intentional [[Combustion|burning]] of other things, such as [[motor vehicle]]s, [[watercraft]], or [[forest]]s. The crime is typically classified as a [[felony]], with instances involving risk to human life or property carrying a stricter penalty. Arson that results in death can be further prosecuted as [[manslaughter]] or [[murder]]. A common motive for arson is to commit [[insurance fraud]].<ref name="findlaw">{{Cite web|url=https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/arson.html|title=Arson|website=FindLaw|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105000600/https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/arson.html|archive-date=January 5, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=January 4, 2019}}</ref><ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/arson '''arson'''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210095348/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/arson |date=February 10, 2008 }}. Dictionary.com. ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'', Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Accessed: January 27, 2008</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.firehouse.com/prevention-investigation/investigation-equipment/article/10464930/arson-investigation-the-six-motives-for-firesetting|title=StackPath|date=December 13, 2010 |access-date=November 23, 2020|archive-date=January 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127143044/https://www.firehouse.com/prevention-investigation/investigation-equipment/article/10464930/arson-investigation-the-six-motives-for-firesetting|url-status=live}}</ref> In such cases, a person destroys their own property by burning it and then lies about the cause in order to collect against their [[insurance policy]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/criminal/b/criminal-law-blog/posts/fraud-proved-lie-about-cause-of-fire-sufficient-to-support-guilty-verdict|title=Fraud Proved – Lie About Cause Of Fire Sufficient to Support Guilty Verdict|last=Zalma|first=Barry|date=January 8, 2014|website=LexisNexis|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105002644/https://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/criminal/b/criminal-law-blog/posts/fraud-proved-lie-about-cause-of-fire-sufficient-to-support-guilty-verdict|archive-date=January 5, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=January 4, 2019}}</ref>  Arson is also often committed to conceal another crime, such as murder or burglary.<ref>B A McMullin, J E Moss, F Muller, J W Price, R D Robinson, D L Seyse, D A Thompson, M J Van Keuren, R F Wagner, D L Zoellick, "[https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/arson-conceal-other-crimes Arson To Conceal Other Crimes]", U.S. Department of Justice, 1983; accessed 2025.01.24.</ref>

A person who commits arson is referred to as an arsonist, or a serial arsonist if the person has committed arson several times. Arsonists normally use an [[fire accelerant|accelerant]] (such as [[gasoline]] or [[kerosene]]) to ignite, propel, and direct fires, and the [[Detection of fire accelerants|detection]] and identification of ignitable liquid residues is an important part of fire investigations.<ref name="Almirall">{{Cite book|title=Analysis and interpretation of fire scene evidence|date=2004|publisher=CRC Press|editor-last=Almirall|editor-first=José R.|editor-last2=Furton|editor-first2=Kenneth G.|isbn=978-0849378850|location=Boca Raton|oclc=53360702}}</ref> [[Pyromania]] is an [[impulse control disorder]] characterized by the pathological setting of fires.<ref name="Burton">{{Cite journal|last1=Burton|first1=Paul R.|last2=McNiel|first2=Dale E.|last3=Binder|first3=Renée L.|date=November 2012|title=Firesetting, arson, pyromania, and the forensic mental health expert|url=http://jaapl.org/content/jaapl/40/3/355.full.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law|volume=40|issue=3|pages=355–365|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105015630/http://jaapl.org/content/jaapl/40/3/355.full.pdf|archive-date=January 5, 2019|pmid=22960918}}</ref> Most acts of arson are not committed by pyromaniacs.<ref name="Burton"/>
[[File:Arson of a mosque in the Palestinian village Mu'arrajat.webm|thumb|Arson of a mosque in the Palestinian village of Mu'arrajat by [[Hilltop Youth]], February 2025]]

==Etymology==
The term derives from [[Law French]] ''arsoun'' (late 13th century), from [[Old French language|Old French]] {{lang|fro|arsion}}, from [[Late Latin]] {{lang|la|ārsiōnem}} "a burning," ([[accusative case|acc.]]) from the verb {{lang|la|ardēre}}, "to burn."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/arson|title=arson |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=June 2, 2019|archive-date=June 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601222729/https://www.etymonline.com/word/arson|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gxU39E56bvIC&q=arson+arsionem&pg=PT192|title=Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|last=Various|publisher=Library of Alexandria|via=Google Books|isbn=9781465562883|access-date=October 24, 2020|archive-date=January 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125085347/https://books.google.com/books?id=gxU39E56bvIC&q=arson+arsionem&pg=PT192|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/arson|title=Definition of arson - Dictionary.com|website=www.dictionary.com|access-date=June 1, 2019|archive-date=June 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601222728/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/arson|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Old English]] term was {{lang|ang|bærnet}}, lit. "burning"; and [[Edward Coke]] has [[indictment]] of ''burning'' (1640). ''Arsonist'' is from 1864.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hw1cX0FpTcMC&dq=arsonist&pg=PA467|title=A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles|website=www.books.google.com|access-date=November 13, 2023|archive-date=November 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113115134/https://books.google.com/books?id=hw1cX0FpTcMC&pg=PA467&dq=arsonist&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgxcuYlb-CAxUZm2oFHfjuCtY4HhDoAXoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=arsonist&f=false|url-status=live |last1=Murray |first1=James Augustus Henry |last2=Craigie |first2=Sir William Alexander |last3=Onions |first3=Charles Talbut |date=December 2, 1888 }}</ref>

==English common law==
[[English Common Law]] defines arson as "the malicious burning of the dwelling of another."<ref>{{Cite book|title = Black's Law Dictionary|year = 2009|edition = 9th|at = Arson|quote = At common law, the malicious burning of someone else's dwelling house or outhouse that is either appurtenant to the dwelling house or within the curtilage.}}</ref>

This definition has four elements:

;Malicious: For purposes of common law arson, "malicious" refers to intention of starting the fire. Fires can be started on purpose or by accident. In either case, there is legal precedent to charge the guilty person with arson whether their intention was to start a fire or not. "Malicious" in this case is describing the intention of the arsonist as ill-intentioned and intending to cause harm or death.
;Burning: According to common law, charring to any part of a dwelling was sufficient to satisfy this element. No significant amount of damage to the dwelling was required. Any injury or damage to the structure caused by exposure to heat or flame is sufficient.
;Of the dwelling: 'Dwelling' refers to a place of residence. The destruction of an unoccupied building was not considered arson: "... since arson protected habitation, the burning of an unoccupied house did not constitute arson."  At common law, a structure did not become a residence until the first occupants had moved in, and ceased to be a dwelling if the occupants abandoned the premises with no intention of resuming their residency.<ref>Boyce & Perkins, Criminal Law, 3rd ed. (1992) at 280, 281.</ref> Dwelling includes structures and outbuildings within the curtilage.<ref name="Boyce 1992">Boyce & Perkins, Criminal Law, 3rd ed. (1992) at 281.</ref> Dwellings were not limited to houses. A barn could be the subject of arson if occupied as a dwelling.
;Of another: Burning one's own dwelling does not constitute common law arson, even if the purpose was to collect insurance, because "it was generally assumed in early England that one had the legal right to destroy his own property in any manner he chose".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Braun |first1=William C. |title=Legal Aspects of Arson |journal=Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology |date=1952 |volume=43 |issue=1 |page=53}}</ref>  Moreover, for purposes of common law arson, possession or occupancy rather than title determines whose dwelling the structure is.<ref name="Boyce 1992" /> Thus a tenant who sets fire to his rented house would not be guilty of common law arson,<ref name="Boyce 1992" /> while the landlord who set fire to a rented dwelling house would be guilty.

==Degrees==
Many U.S. state legal systems and the legal systems of several other countries divide arson into degrees, depending sometimes on the value of the property but more commonly on its use and whether the crime was committed in the day or night.
*'''First-degree arson''' – Burning an occupied structure such as a school or a place where people are normally present
*'''Second-degree arson''' – Burning  an unoccupied building such as an empty barn or an unoccupied house or other structure in order to claim insurance on such property
*'''Third-degree arson''' – Burning  an abandoned building or an abandoned area, such as a field, [[forest]] or woods.

Many statutes vary the degree of the crime according to the criminal intent of the accused. Some US states use other degrees of arson, such as "fourth" and "fifth" degree,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nagel |first1=Ilene H. |title=The Legal/Extra-Legal Controversy: Judicial Decisions in Pretrial Release |journal=Law & Society Review |date=1983 |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=481–516 |jstor=3053590 |doi=10.2307/3053590 |url=https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3075&context=facpub |access-date=September 24, 2019 |archive-date=December 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201045020/https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3075&context=facpub |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> while some states do not categorize arson by any degree. For example, in the state of [[Tennessee]], arson is categorized as "arson" and "aggravated arson."

== Insurance fraud ==
A common motive for arson is to commit insurance fraud. In such cases, a person destroys their own property by burning it and then lies about the cause in order to collect against their [[insurance policy]].

An example of insurance fraud being the motivating factor for an act of arson is the case for [https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2019/release088-19.cfm Operation Firebird].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ringleader of family arson crew pleads guilty in $4 million Operation Firebird insurance fraud case |url=https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2019/release088-19.cfm |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=www.insurance.ca.gov}}</ref> A married couple and four co-conspirators were arrested and convicted with arson and insurance fraud after a string of home, business, and warehouse fires which took place between 2014 and 2018 were exposed as acts of arson. Using chicken left in boiling frying oil, the convicted criminals would make fire seem like a cooking accident. Then, the group committed insurance fraud by filing insurance claims for the cost of the building, as well as smoke-damaged goods to claim fire damages for insurance payouts. The group's scheme claimed a reported $4 million and ended when authorities were tipped off as to where the location of the next planned incident would take place. Police then performed an investigation dubbed [https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2019/release088-19.cfm Operation Firebird] with the San Jose Fire Department. According to a [https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2019/release088-19.cfm 2019 Press Release] from the [[California Department of Insurance]], Tyler and Kim Chen, Ha Nguyen, Sandy Ngo, Duyen Pham, and Trang Huynh were all convicted of various degrees of arson and insurance fraud.

Tyler Chen was convicted of five separate counts of arson and two separate counts of insurance fraud in Santa Clara County in 2018. Tyler Chen's wife, Kim Chen, was convicted of two counts of insurance fraud in Santa Clara county.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chan |first=Nicholas |date=2019-11-19 |title=Couple Pleads Guilty in $4M Arson, Insurance Fraud Case |url=https://www.sanjoseinside.com/news/couple-pleads-guilty-in-4m-arson-insurance-fraud-case/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=San Jose Inside |language=en-US}}</ref>

== By region ==

===United States===
[[File:THE SABOTEUR'S FAVORITE WEAPON IS ARSON - NARA - 515637.jpg|left|thumb|A U.S. [[World War II]] era arson poster. The image seen above was created out of fear of arson attacks during World War II. Once the war ended, [[Smokey Bear]] made his debut because fire safety was more of a concern than acts of arson.]]

In the [[United States]], the [[common law]] elements of arson are often varied in different jurisdictions. For example, the element of "dwelling" is no longer required in most states, and arson occurs by the burning of any real property without consent or with unlawful intent.<ref>See ''U.S. v. Miller'', 246 Fed.Appx. 369 (C.A.6 (Tenn.) 2007); ''U.S. v. Velasquez-Reyes'', 427 F.3d 1227, 1230–1231 and n. 2 (9th Cir.2005).</ref> Arson is prosecuted with attention to degree of severity<ref name="CSUMB">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.csumb.edu/site/x7006.xml 
 |title=Campus Crime: Crime Codes and Degree of Severity 
 |access-date=May 10, 2008 
 |publisher=California State University, Monterey Bay 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224000233/http://www.csumb.edu/site/x7006.xml 
 |archive-date=December 24, 2008 
}}</ref> in the alleged offense. First degree arson<ref>See U.S. v. Miller, 246 Fed.Appx. 369 (C.A.6 (Tenn.) 2007)</ref> generally occurs when people are harmed or killed in the course of the fire, while second degree arson occurs when significant destruction of property occurs.<ref name="Burning Man">{{cite news
 |first=Joe 
 |last=Garofoli 
 |title=Suspect in Burning Man arson decries event's loss of spontaneity 
 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/01/MN8LRTBBN.DTL 
 |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] 
 |page=A8 
 |date=September 1, 2007 
 |access-date=May 11, 2008 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080425202119/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2007%2F09%2F01%2FMN8LRTBBN.DTL 
 |archive-date=April 25, 2008 
 |url-status=live 
}}</ref> While usually a [[felony]], arson may also be prosecuted as a [[misdemeanor]],<ref name="Nebraska">{{cite web |url=http://www.ncc.state.ne.us/statistics/data_search/jcr/jcr_referrals.htm |title=Reason for Referral |access-date=May 11, 2008 |publisher=Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503065349/http://www.ncc.state.ne.us/statistics/data_search/jcr/jcr_referrals.htm |archive-date=May 3, 2008 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> "[[mischief|criminal mischief]]", or "[[Property damage|destruction]] of property."<ref name="Salinas">{{cite news|title=Man accused of arson pleads to misdemeanor charges |url=http://www.saljournal.com/rdnews/story/Salinan_pleads_no_contest_to_misdemeanor_charges_1_25_08 |work=[[The Salina Journal]] |date=January 25, 2008 |access-date=May 11, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222082858/http://www.saljournal.com/rdnews/story/Salinan_pleads_no_contest_to_misdemeanor_charges_1_25_08 |archive-date=December 22, 2008 }}</ref> [[Burglary]] also occurs, if the arson involved a "breaking and entering".<ref>3 Charles E. Torcia, ''Wharton's Criminal Law'' § 326 (14th ed. 1980)</ref> A person may be [[death penalty|sentenced to death]] if arson occurred as a method of homicide, as was the case in [[California]] of [[Esperanza Fire|Raymond Lee Oyler]] and in [[Texas]] of [[Cameron Todd Willingham]].

After the [[Great Chicago Fire]] in 1871, the United States started a [[Fire Prevention Week|National Fire Prevention Week]] in order to educate the people on ways to prevent fires, minimize their damages, and hopefully drastically decrease casualties.<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=Lessons from History The Chicago Fire of 1871 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI-_AtGkvT4 |access-date=2024-03-05 |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> Fire [[File:Smokeybear1944.jpg|thumb|Smokey Bear in poster from 1944.]]Prevention Week campaigns includes various information on safe cooking practices pertaining to grilling, microwaving, and cooking on a stove.

During [[World War II]] arson was a much higher concern in the [[United States]]. There was a severe lack of [[firefighter]]s due to the fact that most of the men were overseas to fight the war. There were few men left behind to help combat forest fires. For example, during WW II in Eldora, Iowa, a fire chief reported that his regular membership shrank from 21 to 9 men and their fire fighting force recruited retired members and new members to fill the missing positions during the war.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-12-07 |title=The International Fire Service and World War II - Fire Engineering: Firefighter Training and Fire Service News, Rescue |url=https://www.fireengineering.com/apparatus-equipment/international-fire-service-ww2/ |access-date=2024-03-25 |language=en-US}}</ref> Although there were few attempts to burn U.S. forests, it continued to be a big concern due to the potential detrimental effects. This concern for arson attempts led to the rise of [[Smokey Bear]] who was the face of fire prevention and fire safety measures.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The cultural history of Smokey Bear |url=https://theaggie.org/2024/02/15/the-cultural-history-of-smokey-bear/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=theaggie.org|date=February 15, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-08-09 |title=How Fear of a WWII Invasion Gave Rise to Smokey Bear |url=https://www.history.com/news/smokey-bear-wwii-origins |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=History |language=en}}</ref> Although the intention of Smokey Bear's persona is to encourage [[fire safety]], Smokey shares a message of fire prevention which includes accidental fires that can sometimes be legally charged as arson.

In New York, arson is charged in five degrees. Arson in the first degree is a Class A-1 felony and requires the intent to burn the building with a person inside using an explosive incendiary device. In New York, the criminal charge of arson includes a maximum sentence of 25 years to life.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New York Arson Laws |url=https://www.findlaw.com/state/new-york-law/new-york-arson-laws.html}}</ref>

In California, a conviction for arson of property that is not one's own is a felony punishable by up to three years in state prison. Aggravated arson, which carries the most severe punishment for arson, is punishable by 10 years to life in state prison. A well-known example of arson which took place in California is the [[Esperanza Fire]]. Raymond Lee Oyler was ultimately convicted of murder and sentenced to death for a 2006 fire in southern California that led to the deaths of five U.S. Forest Service firefighters; he was the first U.S. citizen to receive such a conviction and penalty for wildfire arson.<ref>{{cite news|title=Getting Tough on Arson|publisher=Utne Reader|date=Jan–Feb 2011|page=13}}</ref>

Some states, such as California, prosecute the lesser offense of [[reckless burning]] when the fire is set recklessly as opposed to willfully and maliciously. The study of the causes is the subject of [[fire investigation]]. A recent example of a reckless burning offense is the [[El Dorado Fire|El Dorado fire]] which took place in 2020 in California. This fire was caused by a [[gender reveal party]] which utilized a smoke bomb which is categorized as unsafe pyrotechnics. The El Dorado fire burned over a 71-day period, destroyed 20 structures and resulted in one firefighter fatality, for which the couple hosting the party were charged with [[involuntary manslaughter]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-11 |title=Father in gender-reveal that sparked fatal 2020 California wildfire has pleaded guilty |url=https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-gender-reveal-california-el-dorado-b9f3f9b9cd4a1d8ae43654c4a5cdf453 |access-date=2024-03-25 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> The Esperanza Fire ultimately resulted in the death of firefighter Charles "Charlie" Morton, who became trapped while attempting to fight the fire. The DA of California considered arson charges for the family members as they were deemed negligent with regard to fire safety.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rokos |first=Brian |date=January 11, 2022 |title=Doomed El Dorado firefighter's last words: trapped in a 'corner' |url=https://www.sbsun.com/2022/01/11/doomed-el-dorado-firefighters-last-words-trapped-in-a-corner/ |access-date=March 27, 2023 |website=San Bernardino Sun}}</ref>

=== England ===
{{See also|Criminal damage in English law#Arson}}
[[File:Sherwood Gardens Riots 03.jpg|thumb|left|Cars damaged by arson in [[Millwall]], [[Tower Hamlets]], [[London]], during the [[2011 England Riots]]]]
In [[English law]], arson was a common law offence (except for the offence of [[arson in royal dockyards]])<ref>{{Cite book|author=William Blackstone |chapter=Of Offenses against the Habitations of Individuals &#91;Book the Fourth, Chapter the Sixteenth&#93; |chapter-url=http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/blackstone/bk4ch16.htm |title=Commentaries on the Laws of England |location=Oxford |publisher=[[Oxford University Press|Clarendon Press]] (reproduced on The Avalon Project at [[Yale Law School]]) |year=1765–1769 |access-date=June 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503193949/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/blackstone/bk4ch16.htm |archive-date=May 3, 2008 |url-status=dead |author-link=William Blackstone }}.</ref> dealing with the criminal destruction of buildings by fire. The common law offence was abolished by s.11(1) of the [[Criminal Damage Act 1971]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1971/cukpga_19710048_en_1 |title=Criminal Damage Act 1971 |access-date=March 24, 2010 |archive-date=December 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091208130922/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1971/cukpga_19710048_en_1 |url-status=live }}</ref> The 1971 Act makes no distinction as to mode of destruction except that s.1(3) requires that if the destruction is by fire, the offence is charged as arson; s.4 of the Act provides a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for conviction under s.1 whether or not the offence is charged as arson. In Hong Kong, the common law offence was abolished by s 67 of the [[Crimes Ordinance|Crimes Ordinance 1971]] (Part VIII of which, as amended by Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance 1972,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr71-72/h720705.pdf |title=Legco.gov.hk |access-date=June 15, 2016 |archive-date=March 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307203859/https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr71-72/h720705.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> mirrored the English Criminal Damage Act 1971).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hklii.hk/eng/hk/legis/ord/200/ |title=Hklii.hk |access-date=June 15, 2016 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225161001/https://www.hklii.hk/eng/hk/legis/ord/200/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Like the English counterparts, 63 of the 1972 Ordinance provides a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and s 60(3) of the Ordinance requires that if the damage is by fire the offence should be charged as arson.

=== Myanmar ===
In the Burmese legal system, arson is considered "mischief by fire" under sections 435 and 436 of the [[Myanmar Penal Code]] and punishable by fine and imprisonment.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2016-07-01 |title=The Penal Code |url=https://www.mlis.gov.mm/lsScPop.do?lawordSn=9506%20 |website=Myanmar Law Information System}}</ref> The statutes were last amended on 1 July 2016, and made arson on houses and buildings punishable with up to 20 years in prison.<ref name=":0" />

The [[Tatmadaw|Burmese military]] has long used arson as a [[Weapon|weapon of war]] against civilians.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Mirza |first1=Atthar |last2=Moriarty |first2=Dylan |title='Burn it all down': How Myanmar's military razed villages to crush a growing resistance |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/myanmar-military-burn-villages-tatmadaw/ |access-date=2023-03-15 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-03 |title=Satellite Data Raise Fears Myanmar's Army Setting Towns Ablaze |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/11/03/satellite-data-raise-fears-myanmars-army-setting-towns-ablaze |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}</ref> From the [[2021 Myanmar coup d'état]] to August 2022, military forces committed arson on 28,434 houses in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sai |first=Ko |date=2022-08-29 |title=Over 28,000 Homes Torched by Myanmar Junta Forces Since Coup |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/over-28000-homes-torched-by-myanmar-junta-forces-since-coup.html |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=The Irrawaddy |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Scotland===
{{main|Wilful fire raising}}
While the [[Scottish legal system]] has no offence known as arson statutorily defined, there are many offences that are used to charge those with acts that would normally constitute arson in other nations. Events constituting arson in English and Welsh law might be dealt with as one or more of a variety of offences such as [[wilful fire-raising]], [[culpable and reckless conduct]], [[vandalism]] or other offences depending on the circumstances of the event. The more serious offences (in particular wilful fire-raising and culpable and reckless conduct) can incur a sentence of [[life imprisonment]].

=== Ireland ===
Ireland differentiates how it charges arson not by degree but rather by what is being destroyed and if anyone was harmed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Book (eISB) |first=electronic Irish Statute |title=electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB) |url=https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1861/act/97/enacted/en/print.html |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=www.irishstatutebook.ie |language=en}}</ref> For example, while the sentence for setting fire to a building can be life imprisonment, the sentence for setting fire to goods in a building can only be up to fourteen years.[https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1861/act/97/enacted/en/print.html#:~:text=6.-,Whosoever%20shall%20unlawfully%20and%20maliciously%20set%20fire%20to%20any%20building,%2C%20.%20.%20.%20or%20to%20be]

A notable historical act of arson in Ireland is the [[burning of Wildgoose Lodge]], which resulted in the arrest, sentencing, and execution of 18 men, many of whom were innocent.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Muirí |first=Réamonn Ó |date=1986 |title=The Burning of Wildgoose Lodge: A Selection of Documents |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27729616 |journal=Journal of the County Louth Archaeological and Historical Society |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=117–147 |doi=10.2307/27729616 |jstor=27729616 |issn=0070-1327|url-access=subscription }}</ref> More recently, the [[2023 Dublin riot]] involved instances of arson, with many such acts targeting vehicles.

==Notable arsonists==
[[File:WP Melac.jpg|thumb|210px|French General [[Ezéchiel du Mas, Comte de Mélac|Mélac]] became notorious for burning cities and farms in southwestern Germany during the [[Nine Years' War]].]]
* [[Herostratus]], accused of setting fire to the Temple of Artemis in 356 BCE.
* [[Zayd ibn Musa al-Kazim]], whose reign was characterized by a pogrom against the supporters of the Abbasids in 815 and 816, which earned him the nickname ''Zayd al-Nar'' ('Zayd of the Fire') due to the large numbers of houses belonging to Abbasid family members or their followers that he torched.{{sfn|Bosworth|1987|pp=26–27}}
* [[Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin]], Irish nobleman and soldier, known as ''Murchadh na dTóiteán'' ("Murrough the Burner") for his role in the [[Sack of Cashel]] and other similar atrocities during the [[Cromwellian conquest of Ireland]].
* [[Margaret Clark (arsonist)|Margaret Clark]] set a home on fire in London in 1680.
* [[David Berkowitz]], American serial killer who was also implicated in many unsolved arsons in the New York City in the 1970s.
* [[Bruce George Peter Lee|Peter Dinsdale]], confessed to a total of 11 acts of arson, pleading guilty to 26 counts of manslaughter. The fires were set from 1972 to 1979.
* [[John Leonard Orr]], as arson investigator for the [[Glendale, California|Glendale, CA]] fire department who set over 2,000 Los Angeles fires from 1984 to 1991.
* [[Happy Land fire|Julio González]], the perpetrator behind the [[Happy Land Fire]] killed 87 in 1990, likely as revenge against his ex-girlfriend.
* [[Paul Kenneth Keller]], convicted of setting over 107 fires in 1992 and 1993.
* John Magno and several others were responsible for the [[Woodbine Building Supply fire]] in 2001.
* [[Thomas Sweatt]], set over 350 fires in and around Washington, D.C., most of which occurred in 2003 and 2004. 
* Raymond Lee Oyler, set the [[Esperanza Fire|Esparanza Fire]] which burned over 41,000 acres of land, in 2006.
* Benjamin Christensen, volunteer firefighter from Pennsylvania responsible for setting seven fires from 2007 to 2008.
* Francisco Ignacio Mondaca and Francisco Pinto were responsible for starting the [[2024 Chile wildfires]] that killed 137 people.
{{further|Category:Arsonists|Category:Buildings and structures destroyed by arson|Category:Arson deaths}}

==See also==
* [[Domicide]]
* [[Fire investigation]]
* [[Firefighter arson]]
* [[Incendiary weapons]]
* [[Insurance fraud]]
* [[Pyromania]]
* [[Reckless burning]]
* [[Molotov cocktail]]
* [[Kirk's Fire Investigation]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Works cited===
* {{The History of al-Tabari|volume=32}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book|title=Community Involvement in and Management of Forest Fires in South East Asia |url=http://www.asiaforests.org/doc/resources/fire/pffsea/Report_Community.pdf |year=2002 |publisher=Project FireFight South East Asia |last=Karki |first=Sameer |access-date=February 13, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225154641/http://www.asiaforests.org/doc/resources/fire/pffsea/Report_Community.pdf |archive-date=February 25, 2009 |url-status=usurped }}
* White, J. & Dalby, J. T., 2000. "Arson". In D. Mercer, T. Mason, M. McKeown, G. McCann (Eds.) ''Forensic Mental Health Care''.  Edinburgh: Churchill Livingston. {{ISBN|0-443-06140-8}}

==External links==
*{{Wiktionary-inline|arson}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Arsons}}
* [http://www.firesafe.org.uk/how-to-combat-arson/ How to combat arson]
* [https://archive.org/details/JennSingleton An actual Arson Investigation Report]

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{{Religious persecution}}
{{Types of crime}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Arson| ]]
[[Category:Fire]]
[[Category:Crimes]]
[[Category:Property crimes]]
[[Category:Common law offences in Ireland]]
[[Category:Organized crime activity]]
[[Category:Terrorism tactics]]
[[Category:Attacks by method]]