The adage in elementary school was "never play with matches.”
It may have seemed a no-brainer then, but it has ignited into a major issue for firefighters now more than ever, especially with two out of every five persons arrested for arson being under 18, according to current FBI statistics.
Thus, the misuse of fire among youth and adolescents has inspired a new and important prevention and intervention initiative in Montgomery County, led by a multi-disciplinary team of fire service leaders.
The Montgomery County Youthful Fire Prevention and Intervention Program is run through the county’s Department of Public Safety, teaming up with juveniles who engage in the misuse of fire.
Over a four-year analysis from 2007 and 2011, according to the National Fire Prevention Association (NPFA), there were 282,600 intentional fires reported to U.S. fire departments each year. Along with those hundreds of thousands of fires came 420 civilian deaths, 1,360 injuries, and $1.3 billion in property damage, according to the NFPA.
The new program’s mission is simple: address youthful fire-setting behavior within Montgomery County and reduce the risk of fire-related loss of life, personal injury, and property destruction.
According to Montgomery Township Fire Department Chief Bill Wiegman, who also acts as Fire Marshal and Emergency Management Coordinator for the township, the program is a collaboration between county fire departments – FDMT, Lower Merion Fire Department, Abington Township Fire Department, Limerick Fire Department, and Norristown Fire Department – and Access Services, Montgomery County Juvenile Court, the Montgomery County Office of Children and Youth, and the Montgomery County Office of Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities and Early Intervention.
"The team has engaged in several trainings over the last year, facilitated by the National Fire Academy, State Fire Academy, and the University of Pittsburgh. There is a rising need across the county for an Intervention Program for juveniles that engage in the misuse of fire,” Wiegman said. "The team’s goal is to reduce the occurrences of fires that are caused by the misuse of fire. These intervention programs have been shown to statistically reduce rates of recidivism in youthful fire setters.”
The program not only wants the community to be safer by cutting down or eliminating instances of youth setting fires, but also wants the community to empower families to lead meaningful lives by "reducing systematic gaps” through collaboration with the multi-disciplinary team.
To that end, it provides assessment and recommendations for support services while also collecting data on the misuse of fire by youths in the county.
The essence of the intervention program is three parts: immediate Intervention, assessment and education. Every intervention includes education and support services through the community, Wiegman said. The program provides immediate risk mitigation through the collaborative intervention program.
"The team takes a holistic approach to intervention to include education, mental health services, and the referral and coordination of community-based interventions,” he said.
Using the Pennsylvania Child and Parent Juvenile Firesetter Screening Tool, immediate intervention involves a screening by the fire official, family and youth, with help from a crisis worker, according to the Montgomery Township Department of Fire Services. The mobile crisis worker may complete a behavioral health assessment as well.
The reason why juveniles turn matches, lighters and other combustible materials into potential fatal accidental fires, or even arson, has many variables, according to the program. These variables include age, motivation, the type of fire set, the ignition materials used, and the youth’s understanding and comprehension of fire and its limits.
Fire-setting behavior, according to the program’s statement of needs, is often a symptom of a problem at home or school or elsewhere, and manifests through stress and crisis situations.
As far as referral and assessment, according to the department, when a fire is set by a youth, fire professionals and crisis workers respond with safety planning around fire use with the family and set up crisis stabilization. This means there will be an on-call schedule provided to county Public Safety Dispatch to allow public safety professionals access to assistance in the event of a fire-setting incident by a youth, according to the program services description. A fire professional and a crisis worker will respond to the scene, meet with the family, and start an appropriate safety plan and referral process.
Referrals come in from interested families or providers, and then a program coordinator reviews and screens the referrals, according to the program’s referral and assessments description.
Referrals come in two pathways: community and crisis. The former is for youths that are not in crisis and do not require immediate intervention, per the program’s rules. The latter is for youths identified as in crisis and need immediate stabilization, per the program.
For crisis referral, the reporting agency can request an immediate response through the county Public Safety Emergency Communications Center.
From the coordinator, referrals head to a specific fire service professional and representative from Access Service Mobile Crisis Unit. Assessments are then scheduled at home or another meeting place, at which time parents or guardians are educated on the plan. Finally, the assessment is reviewed by the Multi-Disciplinary Team, who makes recommendations for educational and support services.
"The MDT will work cooperatively with agencies and individuals that work with juvenile populations and foster community partnerships,” according to the program’s referral plan.
Lastly, the education component of the program involves fire science, fire safety, survival, and mental health wellness, per the department. Youth that take part in the education event engage in social activities with other fire officials and receive a certificate of completion.
Just recently, Fire Department of Montgomery Township had Dr. Laura Billon, a renowned expert on youthful fire setters, conduct a training session on assessment, interviewing, and educational programming for youths that misuse fire, per the department.
According to the program’s education component, it will use the Burn Prevention Foundation’s "A Spark of Knowledge” intervention curriculum for fire safety education. Furthermore, Access Services will be administering a wellness education program for youth.
"I am extremely proud of the efforts of Montgomery County’s team,” Wiegman said. "I am also appreciative of Montgomery Township’s support and dedication to launching the program with our County public safety and mental health partners. We are ready to take referrals to the program.”
Contact Wiegman for referrals and more information at [email protected].
