ARSON

• Arsonists now strike every 6 minutes.

• Young people will be the cause of most of the deliberate ignitions!

• Arson Prevention Bureau 1999

WHO PAYS?

•YOU

Fire-settingFire-setting

• Can we stop fire setting behaviour?

• Why the fire service?

FIRE SETTING

‘Types of Firesetters’

• Curiosity/play

• Attention seeking

• Angry/revengeful

• School firesetter/arsonist

• Delinquent

• Mentally disturbed

Curiosity/Play firesetter

• is a child usually a boy, who has got ‘into’ fireplay behaviour and has become habituated to it. The fires are lit with matches or lighters from an early age. (2 -10 yrs)

Attention seekers-

• firesetting is designed to gain attention and to cause visual impact rather than damage. Eg - small waste-bin fire, setting fire to curtains esp when people are present. “Cry for help”. Can usually be successfully addressed quite quickly.

School Firesetter/Arsonist

• Obviously a particular threat to schools. Young person develops a grudge against the school or specific teacher, and with each successive punishment they receive, the probability of gaining “revenge” increases.

Angry/Revengeful

• may not have a history of fireplay and/or firesetting behaviour. May have happened by ‘chance’ as a means of resolving an angry feeling. One teenager may resolve his anger by smashing a plate glass window an other may do it by starting a fire. However, behaviour becomes associated with feeling of satisfaction, to be repeated as a way of resolving similar angry feelings.

Angry/Revengeful

Delinquent Firesetters;

• may be using fire to cover up other crimes, and is essentially more of a career criminal with a firesetting component.

Mentally disturbed

• this is a minority group, mainly older teenagers or adults. Usually have a fixation on fire and develop into career arsonists. Very dangerous type of firesetter.

PYROMANIAC

Label rather than explanation, could be described as a syndrome with an obsessive-compulsive need to set fires.

• Parents/Guardians• Foster Parents• Schools• Social Workers• Youth Workers• Health Visitors

WHO CAN MAKE REFERRALS?

• YOT members• Police• Probation• Courts• Mental Health Nurses• Psychiatrists

What happens next?

R E F E R R A L S

A rran g e an ap p o in tm en t

C on tac t re levan t ag en c ies w h ere n ecessary.(eg C h ild P ro tec tion U n it)

V is it Y ou n g P erson a t th e ir h om e.C arry ou t ris k assessm en t.

C ase O ffice r+

'secon d '

Y O U TH L IA IS O N O F F IC E Ror

C om m F ire S a fe ty A d m in

IGNORING THE PROBLEM

P oss ib le D ea th o fF irese tte r/o r an o th er

L oss o f P rop erty

C ase R eviewD iscu ss ion s

A ssessm en t o fP rob lem

R ecord in g o fP rob lem

F irese tte rs an dC u rios ity F irese tte rs

M ore F ires , P oss ib leD eath s an d /o r In ju ries

L oss o f p rop erty

In c reased A n g er

P en a lty o r C u s tod ia lS en ten ce

L eg a l P rocess

D e lib e ra te an dR even g e F irese tte rs

M ore F ires , P oss ib leD eath (s ) an d /o r In ju ries .

L oss o f p rop erty

L ife S k ills e tc .P rog ram m e

M an ag em en t

M en ta l H ea lthP lacem en t

'P a th o log ica l'F irese tte rs

A ll F irese tte rs

Addressing Firesetting Behaviour

P reven tion o fF u rth e r F irese tt in g

F ire S a fe tyE d u ca tion In p u tb y F ire S ervice

F irep layers an dC u rios ity F irese tte rs

R e lease a fte rTrea tm en t

P rog ram m e toA d d ress A n g er &

F irese tt in g

P en a lty:P en a l/C u s tod y

D e lib e ra te an dR even g e F irese tte rs

R e lease a fte rTrea tm en t

P rog ram m e toA d d ress F irese tt in g

M en ta l H ea lthP lacem en t

P a th o log ica l F irese tte rsTyp e t it le h e re

S c reen in g In te rvieww ith F ire S ervice

A ll F irese tte rs

CASE STUDIES

• See handouts

THE END

• any questions?