Governor Cuomo today proclaimed May 6-12, 2012 as Arson Awareness Week in New York State.
“This year’s theme – ‘Prevent Youth Firesetting’ –
focuses on fires set by children,” said Governor Cuomo. “All too often,
children are also the victims of these fires. It is important to
understand the motives and myths surrounding youth firesetting, and to
work to prevent this type of destructive behavior.”
Youth firesetting is the fastest growing fire threat
in the United States. Each year across the United States, fires set by
children are responsible for more than 100 fire deaths, nearly 1,000
painful burn injuries, and hundreds of millions of dollars in property
loss, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
To promote this year’s Arson Awareness campaign, the
New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control (OFPC) is joining
the efforts of the United States Fire Administration (USFA), the
National Association of State Fire Marshals, the International
Association of Arson Investigators, Safe Kids USA, USAonWatch, and the
National Volunteer Fire Council.
“This campaign also addresses the importance of
providing the State’s fire service, law enforcement, and our allied
safety organization with the tools and tactics they need to prevent
arson in our communities,” Governor Cuomo added.
New York State Fire Administrator Bryant D. Stevens
said, “In New York State, approximately 4,000 arson fires are reported
by fire departments each year, with almost $75 million dollars reported
in estimated property loss. These figures do not include approximately
10,000 fires that are reported as either ‘under investigation’ or ‘of
undetermined cause.’ They also do not take into account other, indirect
costs such as medical care, funeral expenses, temporary shelter,
business interruption, demolition, fire investigation, prosecution,
court proceedings and incarceration. Simply put, arson has a
significant impact on all New Yorkers.”
More than 50% of arson arrests in the United States
are juveniles, and 70% of all fatalities in child-set fires are children
aged five and under. Annual statistics show that child-set fires
result in approximately 67,500 fires, 230 deaths, 1,800 injuries, and
$235 million in property damage.
Several cases involving youth firesetting in New York State include:
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In Monroe County, a two-year-old playing with matches started a fire that took his life and the lives of five family members.
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In Erie County, two youths, nine and twelve years old, used a lighter and hairspray to create a torch. The flame ignited the contents of a playroom and significantly damaged their home.
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In Schenectady County, a two-year-old girl died from injuries sustained in a fire that her sibling set by lighting a cardboard box ablaze on the stove. Their grandmother later died from health problems attributed to the incident.
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In Schoharie County, the discovery of a small bathroom fire uncovered a year-long history of juvenile fire setting: a 13-year-old was identified as setting an estimated 50 to 60 fires.
In Montgomery County, two boys, 13 and 15 years old, broke into a vacant building and used a lighter to set books inside a barrel on fire. The ensuing fire destroyed three buildings, damaged six others, and displaced 50 people.
Paul D Martin, Chief of OFPC’s Inspections and
Investigations Branch said, “Unfortunately, many of these types of fires
may go unreported or families may underestimate the seriousness of the
activity, choosing to hide or ignore such behavior. However, there are
programs at local, county, and state levels to assess youth firesetting
behavior that can provide appropriate clinical and cognitive
assistance.”
Many communities currently maintain a specialized
Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Program, comprised of specially trained
personnel from various disciplines such as fire, police prosecutor,
educators, counselors and more to ensure that children receive
appropriate counseling and education to address firesetting behavior.
From May 21-26, OFPC will host a Juvenile Firesetter
Intervention Seminar and Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Specialist 1
class at the NYS Academy of Fire Science in Montour Falls.
To report an incident of juvenile fire-setting or to
find a program in your community, call the New York State Office of Fire
Prevention and Control at (518) 474-6746. For more information, visit
the Office of Fire Prevention and Control website at: www.dhses.ny.gov/ofpc/resources/juvfire.cfm.
Prevent Youth Firesetting focuses on the importance of a collaborative community effort to reduce the occurrence of youth engaged with fire
Emmitsburg,
MD. – The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) is pleased to partner with
the International Association of Arson Investigators; Safe Kids USA;
USAonWatch; the National Volunteer Fire Council; and the National
Association of State Fire Marshals to announce the theme for the 2012
Arson Awareness Week: Prevent Youth Firesetting.
USFA and its partners will use the week of May 6-12 to
focus public attention on the importance of a collaborative effort with
fire and emergency service departments, law enforcement, mental health,
social services, schools, and juvenile justice to help reduce the
occurrence of youth engaged with fire.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, fires
started by children playing accounted for an average of 56,300 fires
with associated losses of 110 civilian deaths, 880 civilian injuries,
and $286 million in direct property damage per year between 2005 - 2009.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program report states thatjuveniles (persons under age 18) accounted for roughly 46% of arson arrests in 2005-2010. In 2010, 40% of arson arrests were juveniles with 47.6 % of those children under 16 years of age.
"Fire
in the hands of children is devastating - regardless of a child's age
or motive," said Ernest Mitchell, Jr., U.S. Fire Administrator. "It is
imperative that we do everything possible to prevent youth firesetting
to protect the nation's most valuable resource, our children."
Parents should teach young children that fire is a tool, not a toy;
keep matches and lighters out of reach, in high, ideally locked,
cabinets; set a good example by safely using matches, lighters, and
fire. The most important thing a parent or caregiver can do is to always supervise young children.
In
1999, the USFA developed and released the National Fire Incident
Reporting System (NFIRS 5.0) Arson Module (NFIRS-11). The Arson Module
can be utilized to document juvenile-set fires, whether determined to be
intentional, unintentional, or under investigation. This information
will permit analysis of juvenile firesetting trends, including
intervention strategies and repeated activity.
For more information regarding the 2012 Arson Awareness Week, go to www.usfa.fema.gov/aaw.
For more information about the National Fire Academy's Youth Firesetting Prevention and Intervention class or other training courses, go towww.usfa.fema.gov/nfa.
(The usual disclaimers: I am
not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not
conclusive in any shape or manner.)
