Journal Archive
Firesetting intervention for children
By Paul Bahr
Fire Investigation Section, Technical Services Branch, South Australia PoliceSince June 1992 the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (SAMFS) has attended at least 490 fires which have been attributed to children playing or experimenting with fire. Sadly, a number of these fires resulted in children being seriously injured or killed.
Death is perhaps the most unsavoury part of the professional life of police and other emergency service workers. Even with the "detached attitudes" and bravado that so many emergency service professionals display at incidents involving sudden death, the impact upon the individual can be so critical as to be debilitating in the longer term. It is emotionally trying enough having to view, handle, examine and transport the deceased without the added burden of also intruding upon the personal grief of family and friends while maintaining an air of objectivity.
The trauma of these incidents can be exacerbated by the level of violence (if any) involved, the nature of the individual emergency service worker's role and the nature of the deceased (age, gender etc.). Consider then the role of the fire investigator at the fire scene which has claimed the life of a child. Unfortunately, the fire investigator cannot stand by a doorway, look into a blackened room, note the location of the deceased (which is often no more than a blackened pulp) and wait for someone else to arrive to deal with it. It is the fire investigator's role to carefully note every detail of the deceased, remove the debris from on top of and around the body, move the body (taking care that parts are not lost) and, finally, to attend the post mortem examination. While attending to all of these duties there is also that smell unique to fatal fires and the physical dangers -- intrinsic within all fire scenes -- to be dealt with."Fire is difficult enough for emergency service workers to deal with. The dead (especially children) increase the hardship and anguish."
Needless to say there are few fire investigators who have not suffered emotionally from their dealings with this type of incident. What often makes this suffering worse (in the case of young children) is the knowledge that in many cases these incidents could have been avoided with appropriate recognition and intervention.
"Children playing with Matches" is possibly one of the more common causes (after electrical fault) attributed to fires. Unlike the electrical fault, however, a child's fascination with fire is not necessarily ended when the fire is put out and appropriate physical repairs made. The history of fire is littered with many examples of children being killed, seriously injured or property being destroyed as a result of their "interest" in matches and cigarette lighters. An "interest" which has manifested itself many times leading up to the more serious event could invariably have been avoided had someone taken the time and effort.
Emergency service worker's who may attend these minor incidents may complete their role by "telling the child off" or suggesting that the parents become more diligent, but does this help in lessening the child's curiosity? Equally, concerned parents who approach emergency services seeking some form of assistance in dealing with their "fire prone" child may be given erroneous information or referred to an inappropriate course of action which again has little nett result in dealing with the real problem. The number of children being killed in fires which they have lit themselves is testament enough to the need for all emergency service workers to understand what intervention services are available.
The following is a brief guide to the sorts of actions that emergency service workers can take when dealing with young children whom they suspect may have a "dangerous" fascination with fire.
Playing Amateur Psychologist
There are any number of dissertations available which list traits or behaviours which may indicate an abnormal curiosity with fire in young children. Some even supply checklists that emergency service workers can use to assess the behaviour of the child. Emergency service workers who attempt to apply these criteria to young children before suggesting or recommending that parents should seek some form of professional assistance may be doing more harm than good.
Much of the information relative to behaviour is statistical. That is, it applies in a general sense rather than to specific individuals. Interpretation of the statistics and the method of collection can also create great variance in results. For instance, one survey of child fire setters found that "60% had below average intelligence with IQs as low as 87". Whereas a different study of the same behaviour found that "there is little support in the literature that firesetting children differ from normal children in intellectual test performance".
There has also been some suggestion that fire setting behaviour in children is a result of a 'broken home'. This may well be the case in something like 60% of cases but it is far from a conclusive statement.
It is inappropriate therefore for front-line emergency service workers to attempt to "pigeon-hole" individual children before recommending some form of assistance. The fact that the child has lit a fire or that the parents are sufficiently worried to seek advice should be more than ample reason to take the potential of the child's fascination seriously. Any assessment of the child's behaviour should be left to those who have the appropriate training and experience.
Overcoming Embarrassment
Parents can often be loath to seek out assistance for their children, either through fear that the child's actions could be interpreted as a sign of poor parental guidance or abuse or, through ignorance of the potential dangers of the child's actions. Curiosity in children is certainly a normal trait but some parents may need to be alerted when that curiosity starts to get out of hand.
Perhaps the most compelling argument against this apathy is the countless cases of young children who have died in fires, lit by themselves, after previous fire behaviour has gone "untreated". The potential embarrassment that the parents may fear is but a small price to pay for the future well being of their children.
Services Available
The South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service, Fire Safety Department, have for some years been running a successful juvenile firesetting intervention programme. This programme utilises one-on-one interviews with the child and parents by a trained member of the Department and a series of follow-up visits. The programme, which is educational rather than medical, is conducted within the child's own home (rather than in a sterile office environment).
If the child exhibits more significant problems then the Fire Safety Department will recommend that they be referred to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service or to a child psychologist via their local GP. On these occasions the Fire Safety member is available to accompany the parents and child to explain their concerns and will often work with the medical professionals.
Access to this service is via a simple phone call to the SAMFS Fire Safety Department and it is provided free of charge. Fire Safety members will act not only from requests from parents but also from information received from other emergency service workers where the parents themselves do not wish (for whatever reason) to take the steps themselves.
In rural and remote areas of the State counselling services are available via Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Child and Youth Health or local GPs. Again, the SAMFS Fire Safety Department can provide advice as to the most appropriate service.
Proactive Measures
Many of the fires set by young children result from their fascination with cigarette lighters and their mimicking of adult behaviour. Children have also been known to use a cigarette lighter much like a toy car, running the wheel along the ground, causing it to ignite. Several commentators have suggested that the best way to prevent children playing with cigarette lighters is diligence on the part of parents and other adults. As any parent will tell you, however, children have a habit of striking at the very instant the guard is down. Diligence, although essential, is never fool (or should that be child) proof.
In response to pressure from child safety authorities the Commonwealth Government has enacted a series of regulations covering the sale of disposable cigarette lighters which will come into force on 1 October 1997. After that date it will be illegal for anyone to sell disposable cigarette lighters which do not meet the regulations covering child resistance. The regulations also cover all forms of 'novelty' lighters which may have some 'appeal' to children. However, like most child-resistant products there will always be those whose persistence and patience will eventually overcome even the most ingenious safety features.
Conclusion
Regardless of the best intentions of parents in remaining diligent or the regulations concerning cigarette lighters there will inevitably continue to be those children who display a "dangerous" fascination with fire. If left untreated there is a real danger that these children will cause serious property damage or even death. Emergency service workers who become aware of these children have a 'duty' to ensure that every measure that can be reasonably undertaken to assist these children is explored, even to the extent of alerting the relevant agencies offering intervention services themselves.
There is no one who enjoys having to deal with the tragedy of a child's death in these circumstances and any actions which can be taken to reduce the incidence rate will have a beneficial effect, not only on the children and their families, but also on the countless number of professionals who have to deal with the aftermath.
[End]