Arsonists have both a psychological and a criminal aspect to their personalities. They often light fires because they enjoy the rush of watching something burn, which is the psychological aspect, and they often do not care who or what is inside, which is the criminal aspect of their makeup. If you have had some neighbors lose their home to arson fires in the last month or so, you should start thinking about ways you can protect your home. A home that burns by accident is covered by insurance, but a home that is intentionally burned typically is not, which is why an arson fire is so devastating. The following are all ways in which you can protect your family and your home, whether you are present or not when a fire suddenly starts.
Smoke Detectors Are Not Enough
Arsonists use flammable agents to start fires, which will not be detected by smoke detectors until your home is almost engulfed in flames. That is because smoke detectors are made to detect smoke coming from a fire or from something burning inside the house, and arsonists set fires to homes from the outside. Ergo, what you really need is a fire alarm. The fire alarm will detect extreme heat and flames coming from outside the house before the smoke detectors detect smoke from within the house. A fire alarm installation is relatively quick and easy to do, and you can even hardwire it into a security system for full protection of your home.
Invest in a Sprinkler System
True, sprinklers inside a residence are not exactly pretty, but sprinklers are able to extinguish a lot of the flames before a fire department's trucks ever reach you. (The only exception is if the fire department is literally a couple of blocks away.) Given that there is an arsonist on the loose in your neighborhood, a sprinkler system could defeat any and all efforts for the arsonist to get his/her kicks watching your house burn.
Invest in Motion Sensor Lights
Arsonists always look for areas of your home that are covered in darkness so that no one will see what the arsonists are up to. If you put motion sensor lights up all the way around your home, there is no area where the arsonist can hide and start a fire. He or she is more likely to skip a well-lit house and move on to a different home that is not well-lit.
