What programs or resources does your department utilize to prevent youth fire setting?
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Fire setting is the largest cause of home deaths among children.
Almost 34% of victims of child-set fires are the children themselves.
55% of all U.S. arson arrests are children under 18 years of age.
Fires set by children account for more than 250,000 fires per year.
The average cost of a juvenile-set structure fire exceedes $20,000.
Intentional fires ranked first among the major causes of structure fire dollar loss.
Types of firesetters:
1. Curiosity/Eperimental - children ages 2-10 - lack understanding of the destructive potential of fire - ready access to lighters, matches, or open flame devices - unsupervised
2. Troubled/Crisis - mostly boys of all ages - have set 2 or more fires - use fire to express emotions - may not understand consequences of uncontrolled fire - will continue to set fire until needs are met or identified - known as "cry for help" firesetters
3. Delinquent/Criminal - teens with a history of firesetting, gangs, truancy, drug/alcohol abuse - fires set with intent to destroy - typically targets schools, open fields, dumpsters or abandoned structures - leads to restitution and criminal punishment
4. Pathological/Emotionally Disturbed - involves a psychiatric diagnoses - fires may be random, ritualized, or with specific intent - chronic history of school, behavioral, and social problems - males/females of all ages - has set multiple fires
Intervention strategies:
General fire/life safety education.
Specific youthfiresetting education.
Character developement.
Life skills training.
Social services counseling.
Mental health therapy.
Juvenile justice.
If you are a parent or a teacher, and have witnessed fire setting curiosity or behavior here are some steps you can take:
Be there for the child. Frequently older children and teens find it difficult to express their inner feelings to their parents. Because teachers are a positive adult role model, students may feel more comfortable sharing their troubles with your. Listen to your students’ verbal and nonverbal communications. Respond with a sincere respect for what they are sharing with you.
Open lines of communication. Reassure your students that you want to hear about the feelings and events that have triggered the firesetting behavior. Listen in a positive and nonjudgmental manner. Your students need to understand that your goal is to stop the behavior because of your concern for their safety, and that you want to do that in a proactive and positive way.
Create positive outlets. Firesetting is a behavior that expresses a student’s stress, anger and negative emotions. By providing opportunities to vent these emotions through positive avenues, you can diffuse some of those dangerous feelings. There are many options available to students, including: sports, mentors, and groupcounseling.
Seek qualified help for your student.Crisis firesetting is a complex emotional issue. It is important that students are provided with the help of a qualified mental health professional who is experienced in dealing with juvenile firesetting cases. Traditional therapy, which simply explores “feelings,” is not appropriate in firesetting cases. A good place to start is your local fire department.
"Prevent Youth Firesetting" is the theme for Arson Awareness Week 2012. This week is sponsored by the USFA. Their Arson Awareness Week page offers many resources for preventing youth firesetting, for public educators, and for juvenile firesetter intervention programs.
Here is a list of the top 10 most useful resources for the prevention of youth firesetting:
NFPA 1035 : Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire and Life Safety Educator, Public Information Officer, and Juvenile Firesetter Intervention
The United States Fire Administrated introduced its theme for the 2012 Arson Awareness Week, which will be observed May 6-12. The theme, Prevent Youth Firesetting.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, fires started by children playing accounted for an average of 56,300 fires with associated losses of 110 civilian deaths, 880 civilian injuries, and $286 million in direct property damage per year between 2005 - 2009.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program report states that juveniles (persons under age 18) accounted for roughly 46% of arson arrests in 2005-2010. In 2010, 40% of arson arrests were juveniles with 47.6 % of those children under 16 years of age.
"Fire in the hands of children is devastating - regardless of a child's age or motive," said Ernest Mitchell, Jr., U.S. Fire Administrator. "It is imperative that we do everything possible to prevent youth firesetting to protect the nation's most valuable resource, our children."
The official Prevent Youth Firesetting Arson Awareness Week site and resources is located at, www.usfa.fema.gov/aaw.
