Fighting Fire With Fire
FIRE PREVENTION
AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO THE ARSON PROBLEM
AN INTERAGENCY arson task force, a two-tier juvenile firesetters program, and enforcement of a state law that literally makes arsonists pay for their crimes are three ways the Ventura County (CA) Fire District’s Fire Cause Investigation Unit is “fighting fire with fire.”
The four-member unit helps the fire district battle arson and is also a source of information on the causes of fire in the district’s coverage area, but it hasn’t always been that way in the county.
Prior to 1973, investigations were conducted by fire prevention inspectors working a 40-hour week, and the inspectors/investigators were unable to keep up with the dual work load. The importance of timely fire investigations required that inspections and meetings “take a back seat.” This caused misunderstandings and created conflicts with planners, developers, and the local business community that were difficult to resolve. Additionally, in late 1972 to early 1973, Ventura County began experiencing an increase in the number of new commercial, industrial, and residential properties. The situation demanded a change, a new system that would separate the fire inspection and the fire investigation functions. In this way, the investigation unit-although still part of the fire prevention bureau – was born.
When first started, the unit consisted of two 24-hour-shift investigators and a supervisor. Today, there are three 24hour-shift investigator specialists supervised by a chief fire investigator, who works a 40-hour week. The unit is completely removed from the fire prevention bureau and works under the deputy chief. This reorganization not only gave the investigation unit the needed credibility and expertise in the courtroom that it previously lacked, but also gave rise to a dramatic increase in the rate of arrests and successful prosecutions. Through specialization of task assignments, Ventura County gave the necessary recognition to the unit that it so undoubtedly deserved, while providing a greater emphasis on reducing the number of fires-whether caused by faulty equipment or by human hands.
ARSON TASK FORCE
In 1978, a joint effort to combine resources of law enforcement agencies and fire departments was started by the fire investigation unit and the district attorney’s office. The intent was to remove imaginary boundaries and establish a coordinated effort by these agencies to combat the arson problem A loosely knit group of officers from local law enforcement and fire agencies met to discuss the possibility of such an arrangement. Although there was agreement about the need and feasibility, enthusiasm at the management level was not shared by all agencies and implementation was slow.
The idea picked up again the next year, as Ventura County experienced a rash of citrus packinghouse fires resulting from a labor/management dispute. These fires and some “heat” applied by constituents to local elected officials drove home the need for an arson task force.
The Ventura County Arson Task Force is now a countywide, interagency program with representatives front all county fire and police agencies, as well as the F.B.I., the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the U.S. Forest Service. The members meet once a month to discuss and share information on all arson fire investigations underway in their respective jurisdictions. They’re available to help each other on investigations and surveillance situations, all at no charge.
This sharing of information and manpower is beneficial and definitely necessary because of the chronic lack of trained fire investigation personnel and the number of cases requiring investigation. Through the task force, Ventura County enjoys coordinated and integrated investigations without any of the “turf quarreling” that is so often found. What this has ultimately meant to the taxpayers of Ventura County is that fire investigations are more thorough, more timely, completed more rapidly, and more successful in prosecution of offenders. Most importantly, fire investigations are now more cost-effective because task assignment redundancy between agencies has been eliminated.
FIGHTING FIRE WITH FIRE
JUVENILE FIRESETTERS
The second program proving to be quite successful is the Juvenile Firesetters Advisors Program, which is aimed at youngsters and teens responsible for an act of arson.
Faced with an increasing number of fires-both structural and wildland- that were obviously the work of children. our district sought a more effective way to deal with the problem. For years, parents of the juvenile firesetters would take the youngster to the local fire station, where a firefighter would speak to him or her regarding the dangers of playing with fire. This worked well in some cases and not so well in others, depending on who the firefighter was that handled the situation and how the child received the message.
There was also the problem of keeping track of those juveniles. Were they ever seen again? If they moved out of the area, did they come in contact with other fire stations and continue to have the same firesetting problems? Did the program work?
To answer these and other questions, a group of firefighters was formed to administer a program that examines: the home environment of the juvenile firesetter; the reasons behind the firesetting behavior; whether the juvenile needs more help than could be given by a firefighter with only minimal training as an “advisor”; and, if more help is needed, where it can be obtained. The Juvenile Firesetters Advisors Program has two parts, one for juveniles under 13 years of age and another for those 13 and older.
In the under-13 program, 18 Ventura County firefighters are available to meet and advise the offenders. A series of three meetings is set up with the child and his parents, two in the family’s home and one at the local fire station. The firefighter/advisor, who has received 24 hours of training in dealing with troubled children from the county’s mental health services department, tries to determine the cause of the child’s behavior and ways to correct it. If he feels that the problems are too difficult to be solved by him, the child is referred to the county’s youth services program, which is staffed by professional social workers and psychologists.
Offenders 13 and older are actually charged with the crime of arson and ordered by the county’s juvenile court to participate in the district’s program. In addition to the three meetings similar to those in the under-1.3 program, they must perform community service, usually collecting aluminum cans for recycling, the proceeds of which are donated to the Alicia Ann Ruch California Burn Foundation, a noted facility that treats severe burn cases.
There have been several times when parents have contacted the fire department, concerned over the firesetting activities of their children and for the safety of their family because of the extent of this firesetting behavior. These panic-stricken parents were searching for someone who could either help or direct them to help, and expressed great relief when advised of the district’s program.
The only cost for this program is for the firefighters, who arrange the meetings to take place during off-duty hours. They are paid at time-and-a-half for the hours they spend with the program.
With almost two hundred cases and no repeat offenders, the program is considered a large success-anytime we can educate a child to be fire safe, we head off a potential problem. And not only does it instruct the juveniles, but it gives a fire safety message to the parents.
COST RECOVERY
The Fire Suppression Cost Recovery Program systematically uses California state laws that allow for recovery of suppression costs for negligently and criminally set fires.
Prior to 1985, the district didn’t take advantage of the state law that allows fire districts to collect suppression costs for unlawfully or negligently caused fires. The philosophy of the department was to be the “good guys.” But passage of Proposition 13, which limited tax increases and curtailed governmental spending, persuaded Ventura County Fire District to make a turnabout on that philosophy. The budget deficit caused by Proposition 13 forced the department to look for other sources of revenue. California Health and Safety Code Section 13009 provided a means to supplement the budget.
If the cause of a fire has been determined by the fire cause investigation unit to be one of negligence or a criminal act, a bill is prepared and sent to the perpetrator. If it is not paid within 90 days, a reminder is sent advising that all necessary action will be taken to collect the money.
If the bill goes unpaid for another 90 days and criminal charges based on the cause of the fire have been filed with the district attorney’s office, restitution is requested as part of the sentence. The convicted offender is also placed on probation for a period of up to 36 months to assure payment to the fire department.
If the case is not criminal in nature, civil charges are filed seeking specified damages in a monetary amount to cover the expenses incurred by the district in extinguishing the fire and collecting the debt.
Although it can take up to eight months to complete an individual claim, the program has recovered more than $40,000 in the 1988 fiscal year, with current billings of more than S140,000. These costs would have otherwise been passed on to the district taxpayers. Through the use of both local and state codes and ordinances, the Fire Suppression Cost Recovery Program is another avenue used by the fire department to replenish revenues in today’s tight economic atmosphere.
CHIEF’S SUPPORT
Recognizing the importance of these three programs, Ventura County Fire Chief Rand-Scott “Randy” Coggan, during a departmental reorganization last year, removed the investigators from the fire prevention bureau and created a special investigation bureau. In order to keep experienced investigators in the bureau, where time on the job equals successful prosecutions, the chief reclassified the positions, with the chief
fire investigator position equal to battalion chief, and the investigator specialists equal to captains.
The programs have increased the number of apprehensions for arson fires. Of those apprehended, the conviction rate is 95 percent. The programs have finetuned our department and have helped to increase public perception that the citizens of Ventura County support a fire department that they can depend upon to provide excellent service.