May 6-12 is the U.S. Fire
Administration National Arson Awareness Week.
This year’s focus is Prevent Youth
Firesetting.
The Kansas City Metro Area has a program to
address juvenile fire setting. The Juvenile Fire Setter Intervention Program is
a confidential program available to anyone at no cost completed by one of the
Juvenile Fire Setter Interventionists with The Family Conservancy Center. This program is made possible through a
combined grant program between the University of Kansas and the Heart of America
Metro Fire Chiefs. Interventionists work confidentially with communities to
provide juvenile fire setters and their families fire safety education and
prevention.
To find out more information on the Juvenile
Fire Setter Intervention Program contact the Raytown Fire Protection District
at 816-737-6034
Why Children Set Fires
In order to understand why fire setting
behavior occurs, it is best to look at where and why children set fires.
Experts believe there are two basic types of children who set fires.
Curiosity Fire Setters are
usually under 7 years old who have a
fascination with fire that leads to fire setting. They are seeking to
find out how fire feels, how it burns, and what it does. Curiosity Fire Setters
do not know the destructive potential of fire. Even though curiosity is a
normal part of child development, curiosity in fire must be taken seriously.
Problem Fire Setters are
generally over 5, but can be very young. Fires are set due to mild to severe
emotional or mental disturbances or behaviors. A crisis in a child's life such
as divorce, moving, or death could trigger fire setting behavior. Behavior
traits may include poor peer relationships, cruelty to animals, and extreme
mood changes.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA):
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 and 2009. Younger children are more likely to set fires in
homes, while older children and teenagers are more likely to set fires outside.
Males are more likely to engage in fireplay
than females, as 83 percent of home structure fires and 93 percent of outside
or unclassified fires were set by boys when age was coded as a factor.
Lighters were the heat source in half (50
percent) of child-playing fires in homes. A child's bedroom continues to
account for 40 percent of child-playing home fires.
The U.S. Fire Administration's National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) data indicate,
where age was cited as a factor in a fire's ignition by lighters or matches, 37
percent of these were started by juveniles aged 10 to 17.fires were started by
juveniles aged 10 to 17.
According to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's (FBI's) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program:
Juveniles (persons under age 18) accounted
for roughly 46 percent of arson arrests in 2005 to 2010. In 2010, 40
percent of arson arrests were juveniles with 47.6 percent of those children
under 16 years of age. Arrests of juveniles for the crime of arson were higher,
proportionally, than for any other crime. 34.3 percent of arson offenses
cleared involved juveniles, which was the highest percentage of all offense
clearances involving only juveniles.
