Juvenile Firesetter Intervention

Scope and Impact

The occurrence of juvenile-set fires is both pervasive and an incredible destructive event.  Look at these disturbing statistics from the United States Fire administration and the National Fire Protection Association:

• Children " playing" with fire start over 100,000 reported fires annually in the United States.
• Yearly, fires set by youth cause an estimated 350 deaths and over 3,000 injuries.
• Fire protection costs and property loss attributed to youth-set fires exceeds $350 million annually.
• More than 50% of persons arrested for arson are under 18 years old.
• Almost 7% of youth arrested for arson are under the age of 10!
• More than 80% of children who set fires will be repeat offenders if left untreated.
• If united, a community or region can address the existing needs communicated by children and youth through their fire setting behavior.

Pennsylvania has a comprehensive state program to address the problem of juvenile fire setting. See the below resources for more detail: