Juvenile Arson - Youth Firesetting Facts

Children experimenting with fire and juvenile arson is a serious national problem.  That is why the first week of May (each year) has been designated National Arson Awareness Week, to raise America's consciousness of this most costly of all fires and the steps that are being taken to combat it in communities across the country.  This year's theme is "Juvenile Firesetting:  The Preventable Arson."

Fires reported by U.S. Fire Departments show that children playing with fire started 41,900 fires, causing an estimated 165 civilian deaths, 1,900 civilian injuries and $272 million in direct property damage.¹

Roughly three out of every four children experiment with fire, and at least four-fifths of associated deaths and injuries involve matches or lighters. Children also start fires by playing with candles, stoves, fireworks, and cigarettes.³

Just over half of children experimenting with fire in homes start in a bedroom. Three out of five involve children igniting bedding, mattresses, upholstered furniture or clothing.¹

A major contributor to youth set fires is a child having access to lighters. In 1998, the most recent year for which national fire loss data are available, an estimated 2,400 residential structure fires occurred that were caused by children younger than age 5 playing with cigarette lighters. Children younger than age 5 playing with multi-purpose lighters caused an estimated 800 residential fires that resulted in about 20 deaths, 50 injuries, and $15.6 million in property loss in 1998.⁴

According to studies of firesetting behavior, children who start fires may be children in crisis, with the fires acting as cries for help from stressful life experiences or abuse.¹

If you suspect a child is setting fires notify the proper authorities, it may not be "just a phase" they are going through.

The median age of children who start reported fires by experimentation is 5 years old, compared to a median age of 3 years old for fatal victims and a median age in the early 20s for non-fatal injuries.¹

The median age of children who started fires by experimentation was 5 years old.¹

Six to eight percent of all those arrested for arson are under age 10, a higher percentage than any other crime.¹

Most children who experiment with fires start them with lighters or matches.¹

The majority of child experimentation fires are started in bedrooms.¹

Only a small percentage of school fire incidents are reported to fire departments each year. Incomplete fire reporting gives an inaccurate picture of the school fire problem.⁵

Other steps that can be taken to reduce the firesetting opportunity:

*     Store matches and lighters out of the reach and sight of children, preferably up high or in a locked cabinet.

*     Never use lighters or matches as a source of amusement for children, they may imitate what you do.

*     Keep doors and windows locked when a building is unoccupied.  But don't use double cylinder locks, bars, or other security provisions that could trap a person inside a building with a deadly fire.

*     Keep leaves, firewood, overgrown brush and shrubbery and other combustibles away from buildings.  Most arson fires are started outdoors.  Don't make it easy for a youthful firesetter or a juvenile arsonist to start a fire or easy for an outdoor fire to spread to a building.

*     Finally, if you suspect a child is intentionally setting fires or is unduly fascinated with fire, get help immediately.  Your local fire department, school, or community counseling agency can put you in touch with experts trained to help in these matters.

Sources:

1. National Fire Protection Association, Children Playing with Fire - Nov 2003
2. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Report
3. U.S. Fire Administration's National Fire Data Center
4. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Fires Caused by Children Playing with Lighters - Sep 2000
5. Office of the Oregon State Fire Marshal, School Fires: The Need to Report, Sep 2000

For more information on Juvenile Firesetting or to request assistance with some potentially unsafe firesetting behavior please contact Peterborough Fire & Rescue 924-8090 or email Captain Keith Rodenhiser