• Fires of unknown origin found in your home?
• Small burn holes in carpets, charred paper in sinks or wastebaskets?
• Matches or lighters hidden in your child’s closet or under the bed?
• An unusual fascination with fires and burning buildings that comes up in the child’s conversation?

If any of these behaviors go unchecked, children who experiment with fireplay are more likely to continue this behavior as adults. Therefore, any child who has shown an interest in matches or fireplay should be referred to the FireWatch Program.

1-908-704-6353 

FIRE FACTS

• The U.S. has one the highest fire death rates in the industrialized world. For 1998, the U.S. fire death rate was 14.9 deaths per million population.

• Fire is the third leading cause of accidental death in the home; at least 80 percent of all fire deaths occurs in residences.

• Senior citizens age 70 and over and children under age 5 have the greatest risk of fire death.

• The fire death risk for children under age 5 is nearly double the risk of the average population.

• Children under the age of 10 accounted for an estimated 17 percent of all fire deaths in 1996.

• Of every 100 children who die in fires in the U.S., 24 are killed because of children playing with fire.

What is FireWatch?

The Somerset County FireWatch Program began in April 1999 and has a mission to reduce fire-setting behavior in children from early childhood through 17 years of age using prevention, identification, education and treatment. Using trained fire service personnel affiliated with the FireWatch program, referred youth and parents sit down together with an Evaluator to conduct a fire-setting behavior evaluation. This process includes an evaluation interview done with the child, an evaluation interview done with the parent/s, a parent questionnaire and a child drawing assignment.

Every child who receives a FireWatch evaluation is referred to a trained fire department Fire Safety Educator to discuss fire prevention and to review fire safety concepts. Parents whose children are evaluated as having a higher risk of future fire-setting behavior are given referrals for family therapy with a FireWatch trained mental health clinician. The fees for this service are the responsibility of the family, but all referrals are made to agencies with sliding scale fee schedules that consider the financial burdens of the family.

All information from the interview is confidential and is shared only within the FireWatch program unless a release signed by the parents is received.

The FireWatch Evaluation establishes three levels of risk of future fire setting behavior: Level I – little concern – which means that the child’s fire setting will most likely be resolved by the presentation of an educational intervention. Level II – definite concern – is a term for fire-setting behavior that is a reaction to some type of stress, crisis or dysfunction within their life. Level III – extreme concern – represents children who have an immediate need for some type of intervention beyond education, and would require services beyond the scope of the FireWatch Program. Referral for immediate services would be made.

You can prevent most fire setting!

1. Teach very young children that fire is a tool we use to cook food or heat the home. It is not magic. It is dangerous and only for adults to use carefully. (Use the example of driving a car or using power tools)
2. Keep all matches and lighters out of the reach of very young children. Even a 2-year old can easily work a cigarette lighter.
3. Have children bring matches to you and reward them or praise them when they do.
4. If an older child is curious about matches, show him or her the proper and safe way to use them. Explain why it is important to use matches only when needed and with an adult present.
5. Set a good example. Always be careful with matches and fire (including candles). Keep your home fire safe and let your children help you identify fire hazards with you. Make it a family activity.

Web Links

FEMA Fire Safety & Education site – www.usfa.fema.gov/safety

FEMA Kids page for fire safety – www.usfa.fema.gov/kids

Arson Prevention information – www.usfa.fema.gov/napi/

SOS Fire Youth Intervention Programs – www.sosfires.com/arson.html