Quick Notes is an ICAC communication that will give you quick, timely links to recent news items impacting arson prevention, investigations, litigation and training.  We trust that Quick Notes will be an easy way for you to remain current in news concerning arson control. 

atf's role in arson cases has Phila. roots

Today, ATF is perhaps best known as the agency that oversees federal arson investigations, handling about 1600 cases a year. That metamorphosis was largely due to a group of Philadelphia agents and prosecutors who found creative ways to stretch their jurisdiction and solve some of the region's toughest fire investigations. Their innovations spread nationwide.

Report details why some firefighters set fires

"It's a subject that has not been studied very much," Hollis Stambaugh said in a phone interview this week. "It's a sensitive subject. Many departments out there won't admit, or certainly not publicize, when a firefighter is involved in setting a fire."

Revolving-door justice fails to halt crime

Buffalo firefighter Mark Reed isn't surprised that the arsonist who left him with life-threatening injuries is facing another felony. He and other officials want to know how the courts could let a teenager who committed violent armed robbery and arson avoid the slammer and attend a public school where he allegedly assaulted another student.

Suspect tracked by GPS

After he emerged as a suspect, a global-positioning satellite unit was installed in his red 1991 Ford Ranger pickup, the affidavit says. The satellite tracked the truck to the area of 2410 Mauzy Athlone Road in Broadway around the time of Friday's fire, it says.

Fire influences global warming more than previously thought

Fire's potent and pervasive effects on ecosystems and on many Earth processes, including climate change, have been underestimated, according to a new report.

With economy tanking, some say insurance fraud is on the rise...

By some estimates, insurance fraud costs $85 billion a year nationwide. But with the economy tanking, that kind of fraud may be on the rise.

Another War America Cannot Afford

The Federal Bureau of Prisons lists more than 50% of its convicts as drug violators. Sweeping up explosives, arson, and weapons violations into a single category makes up the next-largest Bureau of Prisons grouping, at 15% of convicts.

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