The Fire Service is pointing to badly placed plastic rubbish bins as making it easier for arsonists to target schools.
At a forum on reducing arson in Wellington on Wednesday the placement of plastic rubbish bins was targeted as one way of tackling the growing problem of arson.
The manager of the fire service's fire investigation and arson reduction team, Peter Wilding, says many small fires are started in rubbish bins and quickly grow into large blazes.
He says a standard plastic wheelie bin contains the same amount of flammable material as 25 litres of petrol, and arsonists are often opportunistic people who don't take fuels to light a fire but look around to see what they can use.
The Fire Service says many arson attacks could also be prevented if businesses, schools and householders secured plastic bins away from anything flammable.
