CHILDREN AND FIRE
Editor’s note: What follows are selected excerpts and extractions from Children of Fire, Second Report of the Rochester, New York Fire Department Fire Related Youth Development Project. This informative, comprehensive work, funded by the State of New York Department of State Office of Fire Prevention and Control and published in 1986, follows the organization’s 1983 report entitled Juvenile Firesetter Intervention The first report brought into focus the extent of the serious problem of juvenile fire play and the importance of the fire department in combating it. It also pointed to the need for further study; hence, Children and Fire was undertaken. I strongly urge all fire departments to obtain copies of these important, still timely studies if they have not already done so.
Furthermore, several members of this project have continned their studies of juvenile firesetting and formed a group called National Fire Service Support Systems in Rochester, New York. They have published the Fireproof Children Handbook and other educational materials. They are another important source that fire departments wishing to improve their juvenile education efforts can call on.
The Children and Fire study was based on three areas: (1) review of fire department incident reports; (2) in-depth, candid discussions with 100 schoolchildren of various ages; and (3) follow-up study of selected children who in 1983 set fires requiring fire department response and of their parents.
Incident Sample:
- In the 42 months covered in the report, 474 fires started by children were reported to the fire department. The majority of these fires were the result of careless fire play. 617 children of all ages (one to 16) were involved in these incidents; however, a greater percentage of these fires were set by children in the 5 to 9 age group.
- Still, the study indicates that front 1983-84 to 1985-86 there was a reduction in the number of fires started by children between 6 and 10 years old. The report presumes that the decrease is due to Rochester’s Fire Related Youth Project and increased awareness brought about by the department’s educational efforts. The study showed no significant decrease in that period for other age groups.
- Sixty-seven percent of fires started by children requiring fire department response were set in the home, half of which were started in a bedroom.
- Younger children generally were involved in more serious fires.
- Child firesetters were usually male.
- Children from single-parent households were significantly more involved in fire play that resulted in reported fires. The report indicates that this is due to unsupervised responsibility given to the child in single-parent homes.
- The report suggests that there may be a significant correlation between truancy and dangerous fire play.
- A substantial minority of children who start fires to
- which the fire department must respond have school conduct problems and are in need of follow-up referral.
Survey Sample:
- Seventy-five percent of surveyed children between the ages of 6 and 14 know someone who plays with matches.
- Fifty-eight percent of the 6 to 14 age group have witnessed fire play, and 38 percent of that group have played with matches or lighters themselves.
- Seventy-nine percent of surveyed children between the ages of 6 and 14 felt they could extinguish a small fire. Only five percent felt they could extinguish a large fire.
- The understanding of fire and its potential for serious damage or injury is related to age. The study findings indicate a developmental pattern. Increased awareness occurs in two distinct steps: between 6 and 7 years of age and between 11 and 12 years of age. Forty-five percent of six-year-olds said that a match could destroy a house as compared with 63 percent of seven-year-olds; the average number of correct responses to that question in the seven-to-eleven age group was 62 percent; 77 percent of 12-year-olds answered correctly; and 79 percent of those in the 12-to-15 age group correctly responded that a single match could destroy a house. The report notes that this information indicates that it’s not always possible to teach children until they have a cognitive maturity to understand the concept. The report suggests that the developmental pattern must be accommodated in the design of fire prevention programs.
- In general, juveniles of all ages see fire as potentially very dangerous.
- Follow-Up Study:
- Most children who set fires are motivated by mischievous curiosity or by lack of understanding of the dangers.
- Seventy-one percent of the children in the follow-up study expressed remorse for what they had done. Children who had more than one serious family problem (as rated by investigators) were evaluated as showing less remorse for their actions than the others.
- Serious family problems are more likely to produce recidivism (a relapse).
- There is no relationship between gender and recidivism.
The report makes recommendations to Rochester’s Fire Related Youth Project that can be applied to all departments:
Continue to expand prevention efforts, and continue to pursue widespread educational efforts between the fire department and the community.
- Develop and identify standardized child assessment instruments for use in fire investigation.
- Continue to identify children who appear to be at high risk for continuing fire play, provide follow-up visits.
- Evaluate the need for support services to fire department personnel, who are often called on to enter into areas beyond their own expertise.
- Review the effectiveness of interview procedures.
