Over this period, there has been a statistically significant increase in the incidence of fire-associated homicide. Sixty-eight percent of the fires were classified as the use of fire as a homicide weapon. This type of homicide consisted of two subtypes: antemortem burning in which the victim died from the effects of fire but no arson was recorded (e.g., the victim was doused with gasoline and then set afire); and primary arson-homicide, in which the victim's death was due to the effects of fire in the course of arson (52 percent). The second main type of fire-related homicide involved fire as a secondary element (29 percent). There were two subtypes of this type of fire-related homicide: postmortem burning, in which cause of death was not fire-related and no arson was reported (e.g., the victim was stabbed to death followed by a burning of the body); and secondary arson-homicide, in which the victim was not killed by the effects of fire but died in conjunction with arson (23 percent). Offenders who used fire as a weapon had a mean age of 32, with 83 percent being men. Most homicides that used fire as a weapon were committed by strangers (25 percent) or friends/acquaintances (22 percent). Family members and intimate partners were responsible for 19 percent each. For cases in which fire was a secondary element in the homicide, the majority involved a single victim and a single offender (54 percent). Sixty percent of the homicide victims in which fire was a secondary element were men. Offenders using fire as a secondary element were mostly male (84 percent) with a mean age of 33. 1 table and 14 references