WHELDON PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES INC.
Juvenile Fire Setting Interventions
Comprehensive Evaluations Give Parents and Caretakers the Advantage of Understanding Their Child's Unique Needs.
Assessments and Therapeutic Interventions are Completed Based on Specific Referral Questions.
Addressing the Needs of Juvenile Fire-Setters and Their Families Requires a Multi-dimensional Approach
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Fire Safety Education
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Psychological Assessment: Understand the Underlying Mechanisms of Behavior
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Direct Psychological Services: Individual and Family Therapy Sessions: Utilize Effective Intervention Strategies
Statistics Reported by 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 and 2009.
• Younger children are more likely to set fires in homes, while older children and teenagers are more likely to set fires outside.
• Males are more likely to engage in fireplay than females, as 83 percent of home structure fires and 93 percent of outside or unclassified fires were set by boys when age was coded as a factor. • Lighters were the heat source in half (50 percent) of child-playing fires in homes.
• A child’s bedroom continues to account for 40 percent of child-playing home fires. USFA’s National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) data indicate, where age was cited as a factor in a fire’s ignition by lighters or matches, that 37 percent of these fires were started by juveniles aged 10 to 17.
