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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRE
Northeast Juvenile Firesetting Task Force
November 19, 2009
Prepared by: Jennifer D. Flynn
Given by: Marty Ahrens
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
NFPA’s Data SourcesTerminology
Fireplay vs. FiresettingDefinition of Child
NFPA’s Method for AnalysisThe StatsWhat’s being done about it?
NFPA’S DATA SOURCES
NFIRS Version 5.0 Incident Based Collected by
Firefighters Compiled by USFA
NFPA Annual Survey Sample Survey
VARIABLES CAPTURED IN NFIRS
Fireplay
Level of intent: Low Absence of malice
Firesetting
Level of intent: decidedly higher
FIREPLAY VS. FIRESETTING
Nuance between terms blends line between behavior that is rooted in
curiosity and behavior that is delinquent
Playing with Heat Source
Intentional
TERMINOLOGY: CHILD
Under 18?
Under 15?
Under 10?
HOW NFPA ANALYZES THE ISSUE
Issues Age does not have
to be a factor for reporting these fires
Fires are underestimated if we limit analysis by age of firesetter, due to underreporting of this information in NFIRS
THE STATS ON CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRE
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRE
FiresCivilian Deaths
Civilian Injuries
Direct Property Damage
(in Millions)
Structure 12,400
(23%) 171 (98%) 867 (88%) $281 (98%)
Vehicle 900 (2%) 3 (2%) 19 (2%) $3 (1%)
Outside and Other
41,100
(76%) 1 (1%) 96 (10%) $3 (1%)
Total 54,400
(100%)
175 (100%)
982 (100%)
$287 (100%)
2003-2006 National Estimates Source: NFIRS 5.0 and NFPA Survey
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRE STRUCTURE FIRES BY PROPERTY TYPE
Home66%
Highway, street, or
parking lot7%
Preschool through grade
127%
Unclassified storage
5%
Other known property
14%
Unknown property
1%
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRETRENDS FROM 1980-2006
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
160,000
180,000
200,000 Home Structure Fires
All Structure Fires
Outside and Other Fires1995-1st full year
of child resistant lighters
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIREHOME STRUCTURE VS. OUTSIDE AND OTHER FIRES
28% occur in June, July, and August
29% occur on weekend
Peak during after school hours, before dinner
25% occur in July
34% occur on weekend
Peak during after school hours, before dinner
Home Structure Fires Outside and Other Fires
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIREHOME STRUCTURE VS. OUTSIDE AND OTHER FIRES
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRECONTAINED TRASH OR RUBBISH FIRES
NFIRS Version 5.0 has special coding rules for “confined or contained fires”
In 2003-2006, municipal fire departments responded to an estimated 900 contained home trash or rubbish fires. 11% of all home structure fires involving child
play 1% of civilian injuries No reported deaths
One-third of school child-play structure fires
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRELEADING HEAT SOURCES IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
44%
18%
6%
66%
14%
1%
62%
19%
7%
52%
19%10%
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%
Lighter Match Candle
Fires Civilian Deaths Civilian Injuries Direct Property Damage
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRE: HEAT SOURCES IN JULY OUTSIDE AND OTHER FIRES
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRELEADING ITEMS FIRST IGNITED IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRELEADING AREA OF ORIGIN IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
42%
6% 4% 4% 3%
61%
6% 6% 4% 3%
48%
6% 5% 5% 5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Bedroom Living room Closet Unclassified function area
Bathroom
All Home FiresLighter FiresMatch Fires
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIREVICTIM CHARACTERISTICS IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
50%
21%
3% 1%
25%20%
14%
6%3%
57%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Under 5 5-10 11-14 15-17 Over 17Age of Victim
Civilian DeathsCivilian Injuries
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRERISK OF DEATH OR INJURY IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
7.3
2.6
0.60.3 0.3
2.9
1.81.1 0.8 0.8
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Under 5 5-10 11-14 15-17 Over 17Age of Victim
Risk of Civilian Deaths
Risk of Civilian Injuries
Risk for Total Population
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRECHARACTERISTICS OF STARTER IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRECHARACTERISTICS OF STARTER IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRECIVILIAN DEATHS BY AGE OF FIRESETTER AND VICTIMS IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
% of child playing fires by age of firesetter% of civilian deaths by age of firesetter% of civilian deaths by age of victim
WHAT’S BEING DONE ABOUT IT?
Educational ProgramsPublic Service AnnouncementsResearch on firesetting behaviorChild-resistant lighter legislationNovelty light legislation
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
Learn Not to Burn® Preschool Program
Stresses positive, practical fire safety behaviors
Multidisciplinary approach to reduce fire deaths and injuries
Focus: children ages 3 to 5 years old
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS
PSA to teach preschoolers to tell grown-ups if they see matches or lighters
Effective strategies need to focus on curriculum, where kids interact with adults
RESEARCH ON FIRESETTING BEHAVIOR
Studies demonstrate many young children who start fires may be in crisis
Age, gender, family type, and socioeconomic status are correlated with firesetting behavior
CHILD-RESISTANT LIGHTER LEGISLATION
Consumer Product Safety Commission set mandatory standards in 1994
Lighters must resist the efforts of 85% of the children to operate them in a specific test
More than 95% of the estimated half-billion lighters purchased annually in the U.S. are covered by this standard
NOVELTY LIGHTER LEGISLATION
New descriptor code added to NFIRS in 2008.
As of October 2009, 9 states have passed and 6 have introduced legislation
IN SUMMARY
There are several approaches to analyzing the issue, no one best way
Playing with heat source fires are on the decline, but there’s more work to be done
