By Stacia Glenn
San Bernardino County Sun (California)
Copyright 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — They do it for attention, to strike back at their parents, to empower themselves.
The flames grow higher and hotter, and the fire that was just set by a child rages out of control.
These types of arson fires kill 300 people - 85 of them children - each year and cause $300million in damage, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
About 43percent of all arson arrests are juveniles between 13 and 18, according to FBI statistics.
The San Bernardino Fire Department has partnered with nine city and county administrations for the Juvenile Fire Setter Program, which aims to rehabilitate kids rather than throw them into the system.
“If we can intervene early on, we can help them and make them productive adults,” said Fire Marshal Doug DuPree.
Twenty-two boys have passed through the program since its inception in January. Fire officials said they feel confident most of them have learned a crucial lesson about fire safety and consequences.
Referrals are sent to the Fire Department by school districts, counselors or even parents. Firefighters meet with the child’s family to talk about how destructive fire can be and determine why the youngster felt compelled to start a fire.
The younger ones mostly do it out of curiosity. Others use fire-setting as an outlet for underlying issues such as abuse, learning disabilities or social problems.
“A lot of fire-setting is attention getting,” said Allan Rawland, director of the county Behavioral Health Department. “You have to find out what’s really contributing to it.”
“Help first, not fail first. Let’s help now at the beginning and not wait until they’re so disturbed someone gets killed.”
The process takes about a month and the child is given several assignments. The first is to hug the parents and apologize. The next is to write a paragraph about why they did it.
“We want them to express themselves,” said fire Capt. John Payan. “Maybe then they’ll refrain from using fire to deal with their issues.”
Between 30 percent and 40percent of fires in San Bernardino are started by kids, he said.
Fire officials expect this campaign to reduce fires started by children by 88percent.
“The point is trying to divert kids out of the system,” said Deputy Chief Probation Officer Rick Arden. “Our goal is to make these kids productive citizens and turn their lives around.”