Juvenile fire setters

Is it curiosity or a problem?

Occurrences of juvenile fire setting, whether they are curiosity fire play or problem fire setting are a significant problem within our society. With any incident, there is serious potential for loss of life, injury or property damage.

In most instances, it is the local fire department that concerned parents, teachers or other caregivers turn to for help. As a result, fire service personnel in British Columbia, through their respective professional associations have asked for assistance from the Fire Safety Advisory Council and the Office of the Fire Commissioner. Fortunately, the need has been recognized and the Fire Commissioner, together with the organizations supporting the task group, has provided the resources necessary to produce the Juvenile Fire Setter Program.

Juvenile fire setting is a serious problem, regardless of the child’s motivation for the fire start. Fire setting can begin at a very early age and may continue into adulthood. Recognizing juvenile fire setting early, and taking appropriate corrective measures can greatly reduce the risk of future fire setting incidents. Prevention, education, and intervention are keys to reducing the problem and a juvenile fire setter program can provide an avenue for all three.

Juvenile fire setter intervention programs identify, evaluate and attempt to treat juvenile fire setters and their families, with the hope of preventing any recurrence of fire setting. For the majority of youths, fire setting is a behavioural problem that can be corrected with a combination of education and/or psychological counseling.

The fire service can be a valuable resource and prime player in dealing with the problem of juvenile fire setting. Their members are respected within their community, have professional knowledge of fire, its causes and repercussions, and often are the first community agency to recognize and identify a juvenile fire setter.

Although the fire service is NOT in a position to provide counseling services, they are able to provide early identification of juvenile fire setters, fire safety education and referral of more serious fire setting problems to appropriate agencies for treatment. It should be noted that not all fire departments have the resources to/or provide the juvenile fire setter program. Citizens are encouraged to check with their local jurisdiction on the availability of the program.

It is important to remember that the majority of youths identified to the fire service are curiosity fire setters who respond well to appropriate fire safety education.

 

Characteristics of a Juvenile Fire Setter

A key function of a juvenile fire setter program is to help differentiate between normal, curiosity-related fire behavior, sometimes considered fire-play, and abnormal or problem behaviors. Essentially, juvenile fire setters can be placed into two classifications, curiosity fire setters and problem fire setters.

Curiosity Fire Setters:

The majority of juvenile fire activity is related to experimentation or curiosity. This is sometimes referred to as fire-play. Most children express a natural and normal curiosity about fire some time in their early years. Their interest in fire can be expressed in a number of acceptable ways such as asking fire related questions, playing with fire related toys such as fire engine, and participating in supervised activities involving fire such as lighting a BBQ or fireplace.

When a child’s interest and experimentation with fire are unsupervised however, the potential for disaster exists.

Typically, curiosity fire setters are young boys between the ages of three and ten years. Their motivation for lighting fires may include boredom, lack of parental supervision, access to matches and lighters, as well as an overall curiosity about fire.

Fires set by this age group are typically located in or near the family home. Often the fires are lit unintentionally, as these children have little or no understanding of the dangers associated with their actions. Curiosity fire setters may attempt to extinguish the fire themselves, and generally feel remorse for their actions.

Problem Fire Setters:

The fires associated with problem fire setters are deliberately set. Problem fire setters are old enough to understand the dangers associated with their actions, and are motivated by strong emotional distress rather than curiosity.

Problem fire setters tend to be older males between the ages of seven and eighteen years. This classification incorporates a wide range of behavioral profiles and different types of youths from a mix of socio-economic backgrounds. Typically this group is of average intelligence, may have some learning difficulties and often demonstrate poor academic and behavioral adjustment. They have difficulty forming social relationships as they often lack the basic social skills necessary for good interpersonal relations.

Many feelings and emotional states may characterize problem fire setters such as anger, peer pressure, rejection and stress. Problem fire setters may start fires for a variety of reasons including revenge, a cry for help, psychological problems or response to an environmental change such as a divorce or death in the family. For many children, fire setting becomes a way of expressing themselves and provides an outlet for their feelings.

Fires set by this group are done so deliberately and often repeatedly. Problem fire setters tend to show little or no remorse for their actions and without professional counseling will likely repeat their fire setting behaviors.

Early detection of problem fire setters is critical. Referral for professional counseling is necessary, as the underlying problems of these children must be addressed in order to alter their fire setting behaviors. Fire Safety Education is also required.

The juvenile fire setter program typically consists of an interview process, education component, referral process, follow-up measures and record keeping. In order to gain a better understanding of juvenile fire setting in British Columbia, it is necessary to collect information about the fire setting incidents that occur. The information collected can provide valuable insight into juvenile fire setting and may assist in the development of effective intervention strategies for the province. Statistics created may assist fire departments to gain community support for their juvenile fire setter programs.

For more information on Juvenile Fire Setter Programs in your area, contact your local fire department.

Watch the NBC Today show story on Juvenile Fire Setting:

 

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.