Playing With Fire: Juveniles and Their Fascination

Juveniles set 250,000 fires annually. In fact, the youth of our country set over 50% of all fires.  According to the United States Fire Administration fires set by children are responsible for 300+ deaths, thousands of painful burn injuries, and more than 1.2 billion dollars in property loss every year. Children are often the victims in these fires. While childhood curiosity about fire is generally considered natural, fires set by children are dangerous and can be deadly.  Over 40% of juvenile fire-setters are under age five, and 70% are under age ten.  Only 10-15 percent of fire-setting youth are girls.   Actually, fire-setting is the largest cause of home deaths among children.  It is the 2nd leading cause of all fatal home accidents.  Even more disturbing is that almost 85 percent of the victims of fires started by children are the children themselves. These statistics may be low, because many fires that cause only minor damage or injury go unreported by the parents.

Six Motivations for Juvenile Fire-setting have Been Identified 

1. Curious/Accidental:  this is the most common type of fire-setting. Individuals in this group often do not understand the consequences of fire-play; the average age for this group is up to 10 years old.

• Interventions may include fire-safety education, evaluation for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and parent training.

2. Cry-for-help: juveniles who consciously or subconsciously use fire to draw attention to a stress in their life; depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or family stress.

• Interventions may include cognitive-behavioral therapy, treatment for depression, medication consultation and family therapy.

3. Delinquent: fire-setters who often show little empathy for others but tend to avoid harming others. Typically these juveniles are between 11-15 years old. They often set fires as acts of vandalism, to cover other crimes, to balk authority, to impress peers, or for excitement and adventure.  These children are most likely to “torch” objects and structures that appear safe to burn without being caught hurting anyone.  Delinquent fire setters usually do not think about the potential damage such fires may cause.  They can cause significant property damage and often show common aggression and conduct problems.

• Interventions may include behavior modification, empathy training, relaxation techniques and treatment for depression.  Sometimes they will need to get their treatment in a detention center. 

4. Cognitively impaired: developmentally disabled or impaired children. Individuals in this group lack good judgment. The fires set by these individuals usually result in significant property damage.

• Interventions may include special education, intensive fire education and behavior modification.

5. Social or cultural: children who set fires primarily for support from peers or community groups, such as those fires set during riots

• Interventions may include traditional psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy and family therapy.

6. Pathological:   severely disturbed juvenile, including those who are actively psychotic, acutely paranoid or delusional, or youth who have lived in chronically disturbed and bizarre environments; they have frequently suffered extreme abuse or neglect.  These children have a preoccupation with fire.  Pathological fire setters are usually “loners” who have other personality disorders.  They associate fire-setting with power enhancement. These individuals often want to harm or kill themselves my fire.  Of note: a small, rare subtype of this group may meet criteria for pyromania, if the degree of sensory reinforcement is powerful enough.

• Interventions may include intensive inpatient or outpatient cognitive-behavioral therapy, and medication management.

Yes, there are big red flags parents and educators should watch for:  (1) Children who start playing with matches or fire as early as age three. (2) Children who frequently engage in "daredevil" behavior, especially near fire.  (3) Children who mix chemicals or engage in "secret" fire settings in which they try different mixtures.  (4) Those who are noticeably excited while watching fires.

To gauge whether a fire-setter's behavior is pathological, environmental or, more simply, derived from curiosity, investigators often use psychologist-developed assessment questionnaires. These questionnaires evaluate characteristics such as aggression, attention-seeking, social difficulty, behavioral problems, or substance abuse; all of which have been linked with fire-play.

If the child is deemed to be a curiosity driven fire-setter (having engaged in a single fire-play incident) he/she often only requires fire-safety education. However, if the assessments deem a child's fire-play is pathological, a mental health specialist will need to intervene to screen for mental health problems and abuse/neglect, and then provide appropriate treatment such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, family therapy, and/or medications to address any comorbid mental illness.

Juvenile Arson

Adolescent fire-setting is arson if there was a purposefully destructive plan to set fire to a structure, grassland or property. The crime of arson has the highest rate of juvenile involvement. Motive and intent must be established to classify a firestart as arson.  55% of all U.S. arson arrests are children under the age of 18; and almost half of these arrests are children ages 15 and under.  Although legal definitions of arson vary from state to state, a juvenile may be charged with arson if it is deemed that he/she started a fire maliciously and willfully. 

What Should You Do?

Unfortunately, families and even law enforcement personnel are usually reluctant to take action on what they think could be a one-time fire-setting incident.  Officers sometimes fail to report incidents as a crime so that the juvenile avoids prosecution.  Families often minimize or simply ignore the seriousness of the fire-setting behavior. However, all juveniles who have engaged in fire-play or fire-setting behavior need intervention.  85% of all children who set fires will continue to play with fire if not treated.

Six Tips to Share with Parents

1. Parental Awareness:  Take notice of your children.  Are they using or carrying ignition material (matches, lighters) for no particular reason?  If so ask why.
2. Stick to Clear Rules about Fire. Firmly tell children that matches and lighters are tools for adults only.
3.  Straight Talk:  Talk to your children about the laws related to fire-setting.  Arson is a serious crime.  It injures and kills people, destroys properties, and destabilizes neighborhoods. The consequences of arson may include arrest, trial, conviction and potentially incarceration within the juvenile justice system.
4. Adult Modeling:  Set a good example – most kids learn how to use fire by watching the adults around them.  Do you leave candles burning?  Cigarettes lit in an ashtray? The grill unattended?
5. Minimize Access to Fire:  Keep matches and lighters in a safe place, high and out of reach of young children; lock them up if necessary.
6. Intervention:  Don't ignore the obvious.  If your child is using fire in ways that are harmful or dangerous get help.  Seek a mental health evaluation and treatment before the problem gets worse.  Punishment, discipline, and "scare tactics" simply don’t work.  You will need the help, support, and guidance of a professional.   Remember, fire-setting behavior will not stop without intervention.
7.  Find Help:  Your local fire department is often your best point of first contact for help with a child who is misusing fire.  They can provide 1:1 information and age appropriate literature.

Law Enforcement Investigation of Fire-Setting Incidents/Crimes

The key to a successful interview/assessment of juvenile fire-setters is to determine a complete understanding of exactly what the juvenile did and how much effort they put into setting the fire. That is the information that will help determine the motivation for the fire-setting and whether the behavior was impulsive or premeditated.  Impulsive fires are set by impulsive children who frequently have Attention Deficit Disorder (with or without Hyperactivity), or Oppositional Defiant Disorder, or Conduct Disorder. In general spontaneous/impulsive fires are set by of children under the age of 8. When interviewing young children try to just stick to the facts: who, what, where, when and how, stay clear of the whys.  If possible, ask the child to draw or demonstrate to you what he/she did. This allows the child to rely on visual skills and avoid the language skills that may be weak.

Fires set with more precision are the work of children in trouble if not crisis. These fires are typically premeditated; the purpose is to create and spread damage. Children and adolescents who set these fires typically admit their actions, but without remorse and without an explanation.

As demonstrated, there is no one size fits all fire-setter.  To effectively investigate a fire it is ideal to work with fire investigators who are skilled in reconstructing the scene and actions of the child.  You should also work with child psychologists who can determine the child’s motivation and appropriate course of action to reduce the likelihood of recidivism. This team can effectively decide how to proceed within the justice or health care systems.  With appropriate treatment, the probability of recidivism drops to only 10%.  Children playing with matches and lighters take a much greater toll on American lives than hurricanes and tornadoes combined. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, arson ranks as the leading crime for juvenile arrests.  Parents, educators, social workers, and mental health experts must also join the efforts of public safety professionals to understand the bigger community picture.