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Arson Story for Print Reporting Course covering crime in Bell Gardens, CA (3/15/2004)
In an impoverished part of Los Angeles County prone to high arson rates compared to the national
average, Bell Gardens stands out with an exceptionally low rate because officials claim it does a better job
with fire prevention.
Bell Gardens’ arson rate was almost 3.5 times smaller than the national average, while surrounding
cities reported rates two and three times the national average, according to the California and FBI Crime
Index.
Bell Gardens fire officials and experts attribute the low number of arsons to a fire prevention
program that works including enforced fire protection policies, community education, and programs for
children caught playing with fire. Bell Gardens’ low number of arsons is surprising because the city has
several attributes that are nationally indicative of a city with an arson problem.
“Our prevention is working great and it shows in our fire statistics,” according to Jason Robertson,
Firefighter Paramedic at County of Los Angeles Fire Department. “Our fires are down two-fold and three-
fold. We don’t have fires like we used to anymore.”
Bell Gardens utilizes various fire prevention tools. There are different units within the Los Angeles
County Fire Prevention Bureau which handle different fire prevention policies, including land development,
engineers, ceiling sprinklers, arson investigations, and community education and awareness.
Bell Gardens city officials work more closely with the county agency than other officials from
surrounding cities, according to Claudia Soiza, Fire Prevention Engineering Assistant in the Land
Development Unit of the Fire Prevention Division.
Before new buildings can be built, the Fire Prevention Bureau reviews the blueprints to make sure
the streets are wide enough for the fire engines and that the hoses can reach the structures, said Dominic
Fieri, Fire Prevention Engineering Assistant in the Fire Prevention Engineering Section of the Fire
Prevention Bureau.
Bell Gardens Firefighter Danny Garcia explained the fire department does a yearly check on all
businesses to make sure they are up-to-date with the fire codes.
“I think (fire prevention) is working and things are getting better,” said Wally Collins, Fire
Prevention Engineering Assistant in the Land Development Unit of the Fire Prevention Division. “…I think
we learned a lot from the recent firestorms.”
Community programs in fire education are another prevention tool.
The department works with the schools to teach fire prevention, said Robertson.
Terry Millsaps, Firefighter Paramedic and Explorer Advisor at County of Los Angeles Fire
Department Station 39 in Bell Gardens, said he thinks a big part of it has to do with community involvement.
The city has strong after-school activities that keep the kids involved. The fire department also has an
Explorer program where local kids can learn about and experience what it means to be a firefighter.
Bell Gardens also has a program that targets potential arson behavior in children.
“We have a junior fire-setter program specifically designed for kids that have been playing around
with fire,” Millsaps explained.
Several national indicators of a city with an arson problem, including age, economic status, and
illegal drug use, are present in Bell Gardens.
Juvenile fire-setters represent at least 50 percent of arson arrests in 2001, according to the National
Fire Protection Association and the FBI. Almost one-third of these arrests were children under the age of 15
and 5 percent were under the age of 10. In 1999, 70 percent of arrested arsonists were under the age of 25.
The median age in Bell Gardens is 23.8 years old, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Census
2000. Juveniles under the age of 18 make up about 40 percent of Bell Gardens.
The Arson Prevention Bureau reports that low-income people are 31 times more likely to be victims
of arson than the general population.
“There’s a big connection between cost of living and arson,” according to Fieri. “Usually the poorer
areas have higher arson rates and in the more expensive areas there aren’t many arsons.”
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More than 25 percent of families in Bell Gardens were under the national poverty status level in
1999, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000. Almost 30 percent of families with children under
18 years of age were reported as poverty status.
The FBI also cites a connection between illegal drug use and arson crimes. The Bell Gardens police
report illegal drug use is rampant in the city.
Looking at age, income, and illegal drug use, Bell Gardens fits the typical profile of a city with an
arson problem. Considering these statistics and the demographics of Bell Gardens, the city has a relatively
low number of arsons.
Nationally, the U.S. Fire Administration, a part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
estimates about 500,000 arson fires occur every year. The Western region of the country ranked the highest
arson rate of the four regions.
The California arson rate increased 3.6 percent from 2000 to 2001, according to the state Attorney
General’s Office. The U.S. Fire Administration reports 25 percent of residential fires in Los Angeles are
arson-related.
Bell Gardens reported 11 arsons per 100,000 population in 2002 compared to the national average of 37
arson per 100,000 population in 1999, according to the California and FBI Crime Index. Bell Gardens’
neighboring city of Commerce recorded 111 arsons per 100,000 people and Lynwood recorded 74 arsons per
100,000 people.