Brighton Fire Chief Addresses Youth Fire Setting During Arson Awareness Week

The Brighton Area Fire Authority wishes to include the community to discover, prevent, and care for juvenile fire setters. Arson, and notably juvenile fire setting, is an understated problem within the United States.

This year’s Arson Awareness Week theme covers just that: Juvenile fire setting, to promote education and action towards fighting this quiet and often ignored community problem.

Between 2005 and 2009, the National Fire Protection Association recorded juvenile fire play with 56,300 fires, 880 injuries, and $286 million in property damage.

One of the strongest strategies to fighting the problem is education, and the Brighton Area Fire Authority (BAFA) wishes to help the community learn what they can do to prevent and reduce fires.

Fire-setting in younger children often manifests from stress and curiosity, while fire-setting from teens and adolescents often stems from boredom. Problems with fire setting often start small, and much like fire itself, it grows into something much bigger.

For example, a young child may start by setting paper on fire in his closet and eventually on a separate occasion igniting his mattress, or teenagers lighting a small brush fire, then using gasoline to accelerate another fire and injuring themselves. Many people may also remember the young man who committed the crime of arson at Howell High School several years ago. Parents, family, and close friends have the opportunity to see the warning signs.

The Brighton Area Fire Authority holds public fire and life-safety education to be one of its prime missions. In developing a comprehensive public education program that spans all ages, the BAFA hopes to reduce fire and increase the safety of all who live and work in the Brighton community. Regarding juvenile fire-setting, there are many programs available to help families and their children afflicted with fire-setting behavior.

Locally, police and fire agencies can talk with and refer a child at risk for fire-setting behavior to the University of Michigan Straight Talk program. Experts instruct children through positive means on the danger of fire-setting, and help children find a positive means of expression that is not risky or self-destructive. The common perception of “scaring someone straight” is a misnomer, and fear in fact can be counterproductive to helping a person develop better behaviors.

If there is a problem with juvenile fire-setting within your family, please do not hesitate to speak with your child’s school counselor, local fire department, or police service.

Those who are interested in learning more about the problems of youth fire-setting may visit the following websites: escapeinc.4mg.com, www.sosfires.com and www.traumaburn.org/index.shtml.