Fire Stoppers

Project Summary

Fire Stoppers is designed to provide education and referral services for youth who display dangerous fire behaviors. It also offers information to parents for “problem firesetter” youth who need more help than education can provide.

Alaska Injury Prevention Center, a Denali Safety Council partner, provides intervention services for youth, families, and communities involved in or affected by juvenile firesetting. Youth statewide who are misusing fire are referred to Fire Stoppers by fire departments, schools, parents, juvenile justice systems, mental health providers, physicians, and concerned individuals. Assessors trained through Fire Stoppers evaluate each incident to determine its severity.

Young people and their families are given one-on-one fire safety education and many are referred to mental health professionals or other appropriate community agencies for more specific attention. Fire Stoppers identifies and provides valuable assistance to youth who are using fire out of curiosity and facilitates crisis intervention for those using fire to destroy lives and property.

(Obtain further information from Niki Pereira, 907-346-2888)

Download the Fire Stoppers Brochure.

The Fire Stoppers Project in Detail

Children are naturally attracted to fire at a very early age. They see grownups around them using fire for many different things. In today's world, children typically see fire in its controlled stages. They witness fire in the fire place, campfires with the family, candles on a birthday cake, candles for decoration in the home, and many other controlled uses. They also see adults use fire for smoking. Fire has also become a significant part of our entertainment in movies and on television. Fire is commonly used to market products on television.

Unfortunately, our society does a less than adequate job of educating children and adults about fire behavior, fire safety, and fire prevention. The result of this imbalance is reflected in the sad statistics we see regarding children's use of fire and the tragedy it causes.

Very young children do not understand cause and effect well enough to be able to make the correct decisions about how to handle fire. Thus, we often underestimate their ability to make good decisions regarding fire. If a child is emotionally distressed, acting out with fire is often one of the earliest indicators of problems. Due to our society's lack of understanding about fire, we often sweep the behavior "under the rug", thinking the activity will stop on its own or the child will "grow out of it".

Sadly, each year the United States sees over 18,000 structure fires, nearly 300 fire deaths, more than 2,000 fire injuries, and almost 240 million dollars in direct property damage all caused by youth setting fires. And for every one youth-caused fire we know of, at least ten more have occurred. We know these statistics are low because so many fires are not reported to fire departments out of embarrassment and a lack of knowledge that it should be reported. We also know that only about half of the fire departments report any of their statistics to the national database.

  • The FBI Crime Index reports that juvenile arson accounts for over 55% of all arson arrests in the nation. Nearly half of these are youth under the age of 15 years.
  • In Alaska, 1995 - 2001, 47% of all youth fire fatalities were caused by young people setting fires.

In 1995, Anchorage began working with youth engaged in the high-risk activity of misusing fire. The results have been encouraging. Anchorage has seen a dramatic drop in the number of children under the age of nine who lose their life to fire.

Fire Stoppers works to identify youth who misuse fire, assess the level of risk in their firesetting behavior, educate them and family, and/or refer them for professional services as needed. Fire Stoppers is a voluntary and confidential service.

I: Introduction

Fire Stoppers has several goals. The program 1) identifies youth who misuse fire 2) screens the youth and family to determine the level of risk 3) provides education for the youth and family 4) provides referral to other community and mental health services for youth who need more help than education can provide.

A coalition of community members is an integral part of the program. Program coalition members include mental health professionals, fire service, law enforcement, juvenile justice, school district, Anchorage Youth Court, Department of Family and Youth Services, Foster Parent Training, and many others.

The Fire Stoppers program models Juvenile Firesetter programs outlined by the U.S. Fire Administration. Fire Stoppers requires personnel involved in screening youth to be trained in education and assessment techniques that meet the standards of NFPA 1035 (National Fire Protection Association Professional Qualifications for Fire and Life Safety Educator, Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Specialist).

When a young person is identified as engaging in inappropriate use of fire, the youth and parents participate in a voluntary screening process with a trained intervention specialist. The interview and screening process is not meant to be used for investigation of criminal activity. It is understood by parents and children that no one will be taken into custody as a result of the assessment unless, in the course of the interview, a criminal act is discovered. The juvenile justice system may require some youth to participate in the screening and the program.

II: Program Components

Identification:

Referrals come from multiple sources. The most obvious is the fire service because fire fighters are often the first to respond to incidents involving youth and fire. Other resources include the police department, schools, youth detention centers, churches and direct calls to the fire department from parents asking for help.

A dedicated phone line has been set up for referrals from parents and agencies. Parents, fire service, law enforcement and other agencies can call (907) 346-2888. Messages received on this phone are confidential and responded to by the Fire Stoppers Program Manager.

Screening:

The screening interview is conducted by the program manager and a staff of trained personnel. Personnel who desire to participate in the intervention and assessment process are required to complete the training course as outlined in the Training Standards section.

The screening tool used in the program is a modified version of the standard tool developed by the US Fire Administration in 1978. This tool was developed by the USFA in conjunction with mental health professionals, educators and fire service professionals. It has been used since 1978 by the fire service and related agencies with great success. It was recently modified and updated by Fire Stoppers program administrators in Washington to be more current and user friendly. If a youth is referred to a mental health specialist, they are always pleased to have the preliminary information that the screening tool provides when they begin working with the youth and family.

The goal of the screening process is to determine the youth’s possible motivation for the fire behavior. The outcome of the screening process divides the possible motivation into one of two categories: simple (curiosity level), or complex (need for referral). Once the interview is complete, the intervention specialist can then determine the best course of action. When the case is determined to be simple in nature, educational intervention will likely be very effective. No mental health referral is made with this group. When youth fall into the complex category, they are referred to mental health. Education is effective with this group. However, it may be necessary for the interventionist to consult with the mental health professional to determine the most effective form of education for the youth.

The intervention program is not always completed by all families referred. Unless a family comes to the program as a mandate by the court system, program involvement is voluntary. Some families begin the program but do not follow through with program recommendations or appointments.

Education:

Families referred to the program usually have a limited knowledge of fire. It is common for many parents not to teach children about fire safety or proper use of fire. Often they are taught only that they shouldn’t play with fire. This is not enough for children who are naturally curious about fire, and ALL children are curious. For many youth, education about the subject is all they need to keep them from endangering themselves. For children who are simply curious and experimenting with fire, appropriate education about fire safety and fire behavior can keep them from misusing fire in a dangerous way. The education component helps youth gain an understanding of why their behavior is inappropriate and identifies corrective action. They are taught the benefits of preventing fires as opposed to starting them. These youth are also taught about peer pressure, making appropriate choices and consequences of their actions related to fire.

Parents are also educated. They are taught to eliminate the child’s access to matches and lighters. Parents are also taught proper teaching techniques about fire safety to be used in the home. The education component is sited by parents as being the single most effective portion of the program. Many parents admit lack of teaching skills and find themselves using an approach which is either ineffective or inadequate.

If a youth has started a fire that caused damage, arrangements are made with the parents to supervise some form of restitution or perform community service. The youth then becomes responsible for the consequences of his or her actions.

Referral:

When referral is indicated by the results of the interview and use of the screening tool, it can mean referral to a number of agencies. The outcome of the interview and screening may result in referral to any of the following agencies, depending on the needs of the case:

  • Mental Health
  • School Counselor
  • In-Patient Hospitalization
  • Physician for medical evaluation
  • Parenting Classes (for parents)

Before a youth is referred to any agency, parents are asked to sign a consent form to allow sharing of information between the agencies. This form gives the interventionist the ability to share information with the appropriate referral source, but does not allow the interventionist or the referral agency to disregard patient confidentiality. Fire Stoppers is required to follow Alaska State Law with respect to confidentiality issues.

Follow Up:

As the program evolves, statistics play a vital role in evaluating its effectiveness. A follow-up with the family allows program specialists to monitor and adjust the program components as needed. This may be the only opportunity to determine if the youth has continued his or her involvement with fire.

The program manager performs follow-up as needed. Contact is made by phone approximately six months later. If no contact is possible by phone, a letter is sent that includes the same questions that would be asked. It is inevitable that follow-up information will not be returned by all participants. Many of the youth seen by the program are quite transient. Effort is still made to determine whether or not they continued their involvement with fire.

Targetinging Populations:

Many referrals come from the foster care system. Young people often use fire as a cry for help or a way of acting out when their lives are in crisis. Fire Stoppers is working closely with the Alaska Foster Training program to train foster parents in firesetter recognition and offer screening services for those youth acting out with fire.

III: Training Standards

Individuals who perform juvenile firesetter intervention and education are required to complete, at a minimum, a 16-hour course that meets the requirements of the NFPA 1035 Standard (Fire & Life Safety Educator, Juvenile Firesetter Interventionist Level I section). The course should address at a minimum but not limited to the following:

  1. Identification
  2. Intake Procedures
  3. Interview Techniques
  4. Intervention Strategies
    1. Education
    2. Mental Health Referral
    3. Juvenile Justice Referral
  5. Follow-up

The Fire Stoppers Program is designed to map the normal developmental characteristics of youth and those who set fires. Intervention Specialists should know how to use this information to screen youth effectively to determine the best intervention strategies. The course should provide information about how to design simple educational activities for youth using the developmental characteristics as a guide. It should offer a variety of established educational activities for interviewers to choose from. The referral process should be detailed and participants should be taught how agencies involved in the problem can best interface. The assessment forms and procedures should be reviewed in great detail.

IV: Conclusions

The problem of youth who misuse fire is not unique to Alaska. Curiosity with fire is natural for young children, but curiosity without education can become a deadly combination. Innocent youngsters can observe older youth using lighters as toys, with flames turned up to simulate a small torch. Packing lighters and matches to school has become commonplace. Movies depict fire as something easy to control and somewhat non-threatening. When given education about the seriousness of fire, most people, young and old, are surprised at the force and rapid rate at which it can spread. Children who don’t understand the ramifications of fire can learn to respect it and use it in an appropriate manner.

Youth who misuse fire at any level are at high risk. If we address this risk group with an effective intervention program, we can make an impact on present fire statistics and statistics in the future. Community resources must work as a team and be ready to respond to youth at risk. The low recidivism rate among curiosity firesetters involved in Fire Stoppers shows that the behavior is modifiable. Children do not have to die from curious, experimental, or deliberate misuse of fire. Fire Stoppers provides the intervention necessary to save their lives.