The analysis considers the nature of the problem, the responsibility for investigating arson, the experience in the United States, and an alternative approach. The analysis concludes that although interagency collaboration is essential and can produce many benefits, the experience of many multiagency initiatives in the United States, is that this approach is vulnerable to failure, especially in the medium term. The problems that such initiatives have experienced include budget cutbacks that have made team investigation units scarce, inadequate training, lack of career ladders, data inadequacies, failure to share data, lack of clear management, unrealistic workloads, and inadequate cooperation with the prosecutor. A proposed alternative is an independent fire investigation and arson control agency. Such an approach would address the weaknesses of the multiagency approach. Reference notes (Author abstract modified)