By Michael Sorba
San Bernardino County Sun
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Fire officials want the public to know that fires set by youths are a big problem in the city.
To spread the message, and to help children who start fires, the Fire Department is pushing its Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Program, which began in January.
“Kids start a large percentage of our fires in the city,” said fire Capt. John Payan.
“It’s actually a big problem across the county. The way we were dealing with these kids in the past just wasn’t working.”
Last year, the FBI reported 1.6 million fires were started in the United States. Of those, 49 percent were intentionally set, said Manny Sedano, the Fire Department’s public education officer.
Of that portion, half were started by juveniles, Sedano said.
Juvenile fire setters typically come in three categories, Sedano says: those who start fires out of curiosity &Mdash; either intentionally or unintentionally — those who intentionally start fires and exhibit other delinquent behaviors, and crisis fire setters who start fires intentionally to escape from or cope with emotional issues.
All three categories are equally dangerous, Payan said.
Juvenile courts, fire department members and parents refer children to the program.
It attempts to identify why a child starts a fire and what steps can be taken to change the child’s behavior.
Children referred to the program come to the city’s Fire Station No. 1 along with parents and family members.
The child and parents are interviewed separately. Children are also asked to draw a picture of a house, a tree and a family.
Payan says an abnormal drawing can sometimes disclose mental issues.
If red flags are raised during the interview and after their drawing is reviewed, children are referred to counseling services for help.
“There are a number of reasons why children start fires,” said Carla Cruise, a school psychologist with the San Bernardino City Unified School District. “Sometimes it’s a coping strategy. There are avenues of their life that are out of control. They experiment with fire one time and it becomes something they think they can control or have power over. But they don’t have power over it. It’s amazing how quickly a fire can spread and the damage it can cause — that’s why it’s so dangerous.”
“This is a friendly program,” Payan said. “We’re not trying to intimidate these kids or punish them. We want to help them.”
Before the program began this year, children who started fires were either cited and sent through the juvenile justice system, or given a stern talk from firefighters.
Some children aren’t punished after starting fires because they aren’t deemed mentally competent, meaning they can’t tell right from wrong or don’t know the consequences of their actions, Payan said
“Around 6 years of age, most kids know that playing with fire is not OK,” said Cruise. “But not always. It’s a case-to-case basis.”
The program was started by Payan and other members of the Fire Department. It’s a collaboration involving professionals from the Fire Department, social services, mental health, law enforcement, juvenile justice and chaplain services, according to the Fire Department.
Since its inception, no children who have been through the program have committed a repeat offense, Cruise said.
The program is being funded through a portion of a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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