15 U.S.C. § 2201
Section 2201 · Congressional findings
This is the Arson Prevention Act of 1994
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 10 court decisions — leading case Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority (1985)
Most recently applied in Foster Logging, Inc. v. United States (August 2020)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The Congress finds that—
(1) The National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, established pursuant to Public Law 90 259, has made an exhaustive and comprehensive examination of the Nation's fire problem, has made detailed findings as to the extent of this problem in terms of human suffering and loss of life and property, and has made ninety thoughtful recommendations.
(2) The United States today has the highest per capita rate of death and property loss from fire of all the major industrialized nations in the world.
(3) Fire is an undue burden affecting all Americans, and fire also constitutes a public health and safety problem of great dimensions. Fire kills 12,000 and scars and injures 300,000 Americans each year, including 50,000 individuals who require extended hospitalization. Almost $3 billion worth of property is destroyed annually by fire, and the total economic cost of destructive fire in the United States is estimated conservatively to be $11,000,000,000 per year. Firefighting is the Nation's most hazardous profession.
(4) Such losses of life and property from fire are unacceptable to the Congress.
(5) While fire prevention and control is and should remain a State and local responsibility, the Federal Government must help if a significant reduction in fire losses is to be achieved.
(6) The fire service and the civil defense program in each locality would both benefit from closer cooperation.
(7) The Nation's fire problem is exacerbated by (A) the indifference with which some Americans confront the subject; (B) the Nation's failure to undertake enough research and development into fire and fire-related problems; (C) the scarcity of reliable data and information; (D) the fact that designers and purchasers of buildings and products generally give insufficient attention to fire safety; (E) the fact that many communities lack adequate building and fire prevention codes; and (F) the fact that local fire departments spend about 95 cents of every dollar appropriated to the fire services on efforts to extinguish fires and only about 5 cents on fire prevention.
(8) There is a need for improved professional training and education oriented toward improving the effectiveness of the fire services, including an increased emphasis on preventing fires and on reducing injuries to firefighters.
(9) A national system for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of fire data is needed to help local fire services establish research and action priorities.
(10) The number of specialized medical centers which are properly equipped and staffed for the treatment of burns and the rehabilitation of victims of fires is inadequate.
(11) The unacceptably high rates of death, injury, and property loss from fire can be reduced if the Federal Government establishes a coordinated program to support and reinforce the fire prevention and control activities of State and local governments.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
The National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, established pursuant to Public Law 90 259, referred to in par. (1), refers to the Commission established pursuant to Pub. L. 90 259, title II, §§201 207, Mar. 1, 1968, 82 Stat. 36, which provisions were set out as a note under section 278f of this title. The Commission has expired pursuant to sections 203(c) and 207 of Pub. L. 90 259.
Short Title of 1994 Amendment
Pub. L. 103 254, §1, May 19, 1994, 108 Stat. 679, provided that: “This Act [enacting sections 2221 and 2228 of this title, amending sections 2216, 2220, and 2227 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section 2216 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Arson Prevention Act of 1994’.”
Short Title of 1990 Amendment
Pub. L. 101 391, §1, Sept. 25, 1990, 104 Stat. 747, provided that: “This Act [enacting sections 2224, 2225, 2225a and 2226 of this title and section 5707a of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, amending section 2203 of this title and sections 5701 and 5707 of Title 5, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 5707 and 5707a of Title 5] may be cited as the ‘Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990’.”
Short Title
Section 1 of Pub. L. 93 498 provided: “That this Act [enacting this chapter and section 290a of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, amending sections 278f and 1511 of this title, and repealing section 278g of this title] may be cited as the ‘Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974’.”
Arson Prevention and Control; Congressional Findings
Pub. L. 103 254, §2, May 19, 1994, 108 Stat. 679, provided that: “Congress finds that—
“(1) arson is a serious and costly problem, and is responsible for approximately 25 percent of all fires in the United States;
“(2) arson is a leading cause of fire deaths, accounting for approximately 700 deaths annually in the United States, and is the leading cause of property damage due to fire in the United States;
“(3) estimates of arson property losses are in the range of $2,000,000,000 annually, or approximately 1 of every 4 dollars lost to fire;
“(4) the incidence of arson in the United States is seriously underreported, in part because of the lack of adequate participation by local jurisdictions in the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program;
“(5) there is a need for expanded training programs for arson investigators;
“(6) there is a need for improved programs designed to enable volunteer firefighters to detect arson crimes and to preserve evidence vital to the investigation and prosecution of arson cases;
“(7) according to the National Fire Protection Association, of all the suspicious and incendiary fires estimated to occur, only 1/3 are confirmed as arson; and
“(8) improved training of arson investigators will increase the ability of fire departments to identify suspicious and incendiary fires, and will result in increased and more effective prosecution of arson offenses.”
Congressional Findings and Purpose
Pub. L. 101 391, §2, Sept. 25, 1990, 104 Stat. 747, provided that:
“(a) Findings.—Congress finds that—
“(1) more than 400 Americans have lost their lives in multistory hotel fires over the last 5 years;
“(2) when properly installed and maintained, automatic sprinklers and smoke detectors provide the most effective safeguards against the loss of life and property from fire;
“(3) automatic sprinklers and smoke detectors should supplement and not supplant other fire protection measures, including existing requirements for fire resistive walls and fire retardant furnishings;
“(4) some State and local governments and the hotel industry need to act more rapidly to require the installation and use of automatic sprinkler systems in hotels; and
“(5) through the United States Fire Administration and the Center for Fire Research, the Federal Government has helped to develop and promote the use of residential sprinkler systems and other means of fire prevention and control.
“(b) Purpose.—It is the purpose of this Act [see Short Title of 1990 Amendment note above] to save lives and protect property by promoting fire and life safety in hotels, motels, and all places of public accommodation affecting commerce.”
Waiver of Federal Liability
Pub. L. 101 391, §7, Sept. 25, 1990, 104 Stat. 752, provided that: “In any action for damages resulting from a fire at a place of public accommodation, the Federal Government may not be found liable for the death of or injury to any person or damage to any property because an officer or employee of the Federal Government was negligent in carrying out any requirement under this Act [see Short Title of 1990 Amendment note above] or the amendments made by this Act.”
Effect on Certain Requirements
Pub. L. 101 391, §8, Sept. 25, 1990, 104 Stat. 752, provided that: “Nothing in this Act [see Short Title of 1990 Amendment note above] shall be construed to encourage model building code organizations, or State or local governments, to reduce requirements for fire resistive walls or other safety features.”