Fires United States

In response to black church burnings across the country, a broad coalition of Los Angeles churches, community leaders and civil rights organizations announced Friday that they are stepping up their efforts to heighten community awareness of the crisis. "We must never be complacent with evil," said Genethia Hayes, interim executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Los Angeles. "This sort of act strikes at the very heart of our community. We cannot sit back in silence."

One year after a rash of fires at African American churches prompted the creation of a national task force to combat church arson, its leaders said Sunday that they have found no evidence of a racist conspiracy or even a clear pattern to the crimes. "It's difficult to draw conclusions on why this happened," said Assistant Treasury Secretary James E. Johnson, who co-chaired the task force. "We have not seen hard evidence to support the theory of a nationwide conspiracy.

Reflecting lawmakers' distress over the recent rash of church arsons--many targeting black churches in the South--Congress sent President Clinton legislation Thursday that would stiffen penalties and expand federal prosecutions of such attacks. The House on Thursday accepted by voice vote Senate legislation approved 98 to 0 on Wednesday.

In the seven months since President Clinton ordered federal oversight of investigations into a rash of church burnings, authorities have made 104 arrests--eight times the previous rate, the government reported Saturday. The fires "offended every citizen who cherishes America's proud heritage of religious and ethnic diversity," Clinton said in heralding the report issued by the Treasury and Justice departments on behalf of the National Church Arson Task Force.

Ministers of predominantly black churches that have been damaged or destroyed in a string of arson attacks told Atty. Gen. Janet Reno on Sunday of their anger and frustration with the pace of the investigation and the attitude of some of the law enforcement agents working on the cases. After the meeting with Reno and other top Justice Department officials, the Rev.

President Clinton signed into law a bill expanding federal jurisdiction over church burnings and strengthening federal penalties for such attacks. "I applaud the Congress' swift, unanimous and bipartisan passage of this bill," the president said in a statement. "I have signed it promptly upon its transmittal to me so that the new law can go into effect as soon as possible."

In the seven months since President Clinton ordered federal oversight of investigations into a rash of church burnings, authorities have made 104 arrests--eight times the previous rate, the government reported Saturday. The fires "offended every citizen who cherishes America's proud heritage of religious and ethnic diversity," Clinton said in heralding the report issued by the Treasury and Justice departments on behalf of the National Church Arson Task Force.

Fire deaths in the United States reached a seven-year high in 1988, when 6,215 people died, most of them in their homes, the National Fire Protection Assn. reported Wednesday. The association, a nonprofit trade group, said there were 7% more fatalities last year than in 1987, when fires killed 5,810 people. The 1988 total did not include the 62 firefighters who died in the line of duty.

One year after a rash of fires at African American churches prompted the creation of a national task force to combat church arson, its leaders said Sunday that they have found no evidence of a racist conspiracy or even a clear pattern to the crimes. "It's difficult to draw conclusions on why this happened," said Assistant Treasury Secretary James E. Johnson, who co-chaired the task force. "We have not seen hard evidence to support the theory of a nationwide conspiracy.

The apparent upsurge in arson-related church fires during the past 1 1/2 years stands in stark contrast to the trend of the past 15 years, according to insurance authorities. In 1980 there were 1,420 incendiary or suspicious fires involving churches and related property, compared to 520 such fires recorded in 1994, the latest figures available. That is the lowest level in 15 years, according to the National Fire Protection Assn., a nonprofit research group based in Quincy, Mass.

Despite the likelihood of increased air pollution and heightened risk to resort areas, federal land managers have stepped up controlled burns of overgrown wildernesses with the goal of setting fire annually to seven times the acreage burned under controlled conditions in 1995. The controversial new program, which was forged in the aftermath of a 1994 wildfire that killed 14 firefighters near Glenwood Springs, Colo.

President Clinton signed into law a bill expanding federal jurisdiction over church burnings and strengthening federal penalties for such attacks. "I applaud the Congress' swift, unanimous and bipartisan passage of this bill," the president said in a statement. "I have signed it promptly upon its transmittal to me so that the new law can go into effect as soon as possible."

In response to black church burnings across the country, a broad coalition of Los Angeles churches, community leaders and civil rights organizations announced Friday that they are stepping up their efforts to heighten community awareness of the crisis. "We must never be complacent with evil," said Genethia Hayes, interim executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Los Angeles. "This sort of act strikes at the very heart of our community. We cannot sit back in silence."

Reflecting lawmakers' distress over the recent rash of church arsons--many targeting black churches in the South--Congress sent President Clinton legislation Thursday that would stiffen penalties and expand federal prosecutions of such attacks. The House on Thursday accepted by voice vote Senate legislation approved 98 to 0 on Wednesday.

The apparent upsurge in arson-related church fires during the past 1 1/2 years stands in stark contrast to the trend of the past 15 years, according to insurance authorities. In 1980 there were 1,420 incendiary or suspicious fires involving churches and related property, compared to 520 such fires recorded in 1994, the latest figures available. That is the lowest level in 15 years, according to the National Fire Protection Assn., a nonprofit research group based in Quincy, Mass.

Ministers of predominantly black churches that have been damaged or destroyed in a string of arson attacks told Atty. Gen. Janet Reno on Sunday of their anger and frustration with the pace of the investigation and the attitude of some of the law enforcement agents working on the cases. After the meeting with Reno and other top Justice Department officials, the Rev.

Burn victims and consumer advocates urged Congress on Wednesday to pass legislation designed to reduce the fire danger from cigarettes, the nation's leading cause of fatal fires. But tobacco officials, testifying against the bill before a House subcommittee, were joined by some fire officials in urging that more research be done before a fire safety standard is set. Consumer activists and congressmen pushing the bill had hoped for a united front by fire groups.

Ferocious fires in three Los Angeles County homes have killed four toddlers and critically burned two other young children since Saturday night, and the grim casualty list reflects a nationwide pattern: House blazes often claim the lives of the youngest, most helpless residents. Nationwide, preschoolers accounted for nearly one-quarter of the nation's house fire fatalities in 1993, according to National Safety Council records.

Ferocious fires in three Los Angeles County homes have killed four toddlers and critically burned two other young children since Saturday night, and the grim casualty list reflects a nationwide pattern: House blazes often claim the lives of the youngest, most helpless residents. Nationwide, preschoolers accounted for nearly one-quarter of the nation's house fire fatalities in 1993, according to National Safety Council records.

Burn victims and consumer advocates urged Congress on Wednesday to pass legislation designed to reduce the fire danger from cigarettes, the nation's leading cause of fatal fires. But tobacco officials, testifying against the bill before a House subcommittee, were joined by some fire officials in urging that more research be done before a fire safety standard is set. Consumer activists and congressmen pushing the bill had hoped for a united front by fire groups.