Dohrenwend, Charles. Keeping firefighters on the right side of the force. Fire Chief. Vol 39 No 7 (July 1995). p 50-52.

Abstract: This article discusses a program that was implemented to reduce fire fighter arson incidents in Suffolk County, New York.

When a firefighter commits arson, the whole department loses the community's trust. In Long Island county, a program, anti-arson training, is used to combat firefighter arson. It helped improve cooperation between a police arson squad and local fire departments. The purpose of the lectures is to instill in new firefighters the fact that arson is a crime that their peers won't tolerate.

A number of incidents involving fire fighter arson were occurring in the Suffolk County area. A program was developed to provide anti-arson training for fire fighters. The training was provided to new recruits through the Suffolk County Fire Academy. A video tape was developed for this training.

Another part of the program is for the chief officer to help them identify potential problems. Profiles of fire fighter arsonists are provided.

Following the implementation of this program there was a 40% reduction in declared arsons. While it is not possible to directly connect this to the training program, the author believes that there is a correlation.

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