Juvenile Fire Setters
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Note: The information on this page provided courtesy of the Worcester County (MD) Fire Marshal’s Office.
Parents play an important role in helping prevent fires involving children. Here are some ideas to help:
Keep Matches, lighters and other fire setting tools off limits to your children by telling your children to immediately bring you any matches or lighters that they find. Set consequences for children if they are found with any fire setting tools. |
Encourage your children to tell you about any other children playing with fire. |
Make your house fire safe by installing smoke detectors and sharing with your children the responsibility of checking the detectors once a month. |
Keep all matches or lighters in a place that is not accessible to children, such as a locked cabinet. If you smoke, keep lighters on your person or in your purse, not scattered around the house. |
Lock up all flammable chemicals, like gasoline, turpentine or lighter fluid. |
Teach your children fire safety by planning fire escape routes from each room in the house and practicing fire drills at your house once a semester. |
Practice with your children stop-drop-and roll and crawling low in the presence of smoke. |
Discuss with your children the good and bad uses of fire, the dangers of fire and how quickly it spreads. |
Also, make sure your children are supervised at all times. |
Is it normal for children to play with fire? While curiosity about fire is common, fire play or fire setting is not normal and can be deadly. |
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| Is fire setting considered pyromania? Pyromania is a mental disorder, fire setting is not. It is a behavior which can have many reasons and which can be stopped. | ||||||||
| Who do I call if I suspect a juvenile of fire setting? If you suspect a child playing with fire, contact the Byron Fire Department immediately at 478-956-3611. Provide us with as much information as you can about the child and their location. Remember, you can remain anonymous. | ||||||||
My child needs help, who do I call? If your child needs help overcoming fire setting behavior, Byron Fire Department, together with the Warner Robins Fire Department and Crawford County Fire Department, with assistance from the State of Georgia Fire Marshal’s Office and the Georgia Fire Academy, has a Juvenile Fire Setter's Program designed to assist with this problem.
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| I have found my child playing with fire. If I burn my child's hand will they stop? This is a myth, if you burn your child's hand they will just be scarred. You must address the real reason for his/her playing with fire before they will stop. | ||||||||
| Is this just a phase that that they will grow out of? It is not just a phase and you must deal with it immediately or it will continue to happen. | ||||||||