Chicago is an American city that has been marred by fire in its history. Our city, home to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, continues to see its fair share of arson and accidental fires every single year. However, in terms of modern day fire safety, Chicago is currently well ahead of other municipalities where fire crews are called on to fight flames far more often.
The city of Toledo, OH, has earned one of those unfortunate honors that urban areas hate to be recognized for. Between 2009 and 2012, this city was home to the highest number of arson cases of any community in the state of Ohio. Of particular frustration to local officials in this municipality is the fact that there seems to be no true overwhelming reason for all of the fires, as this article published by The Toledo Blade reports.
The situation has progressed to a point where the above article is now calling for community leaders to band together and help come up with a working solution to the issue. Not only have the fires caused major property damage, but they typically cause a high number of firefighter casualties. This is made even more aggravating by the intentional and criminal nature of arson, the cause of most of these fires.
Around 500 separate cases of arson are perpetrated annually in Toledo during recent years, although only 27 people were charged with the crime during 2012 according to statistics gathered from the Lucas County prosecutor’s office for the above story. In late January, a property fire claimed the lives of two firefighters, and the building’s owner is wanted for arson in the case. Such a blatant loss of life and property for inexcusable reasons is prompting a major backlash in this Ohio community.
John Michael Agosti & Associates knows that arson is a complex issue that can be caused by a number of underlying factors. Chicago property owners who are feeling victimized by a fire at their home or business can call us for an arson consultation. We’ll tell you how to find if you’re the target of arson and what to do next.
–John
