Arson

The Skyline Parkway Motel in Afton, Virginia after an arson fire on July 9, 2004.

Arson is a crime. When someone sets fire to anything (such as a building or vehicle) they do not own and they do it on purpose, it is called arson. A person who commits arson is an arsonist. Arsonists usually use gasoline or kerosene to start a fire.

Arsonists use matches, Molotov cocktails and fire starters to start a fire. Arson is common in violent protests and retaliations against the government and other powers^{[clarification needed]}.

Arsonists deliberately burn things for what they want.^[1]^{[better source needed]} This includes personal reasons, reasons related to money, or political reasons.^[1]^{[better source needed]}

Julio Gonzalez became one of the most prolific arsonists in history when he set fire to the Happy Land nightclub with only 6 of the 93 occupants making it out alive. Julio started the fire after the bouncer kicked him out late in the evening due to him quarreling with his girlfriend Lydia Feliciano after she recently quit her job there.^{[clarification needed]} She was one of the 6 people to survive the fire. The club was condemned for lacking fire escapes or sprinklers.

Arson Media

The remains of Kyoto Animation Studio 1 after being set ablaze by an arsonist
Arson of a mosque in South Jordan Valley by hilltop youth, February 2025
A U.S. World War II era arson poster. The image seen above was created out of fear of arson attacks during World War II. Once the war ended, Smokey Bear made his debut because fire safety was more of a concern than acts of arson.
Cars damaged by arson in Millwall, Tower Hamlets, London, during the 2011 England Riots

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Robert E. Hales (2008). "Impulse Disorders Not Elsewhere Classified". In Stuart C. Yudofsky; Glen O. Gabbard (eds.). The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. American Psychiatric Pub. p. 793. ISBN 9781585622573.

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[americanpsychiatrist-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Robert E. Hales (2008). "Impulse Disorders Not Elsewhere Classified". In Stuart C. Yudofsky; Glen O. Gabbard (eds.). The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. American Psychiatric Pub. p. 793. ISBN 9781585622573.

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