Juvenile Fire Awareness
Russell is a 9 year old boy who likes football, cricket and basketball. He lives at home with his mum and an older sister who smokes. He loves all animals and has a pet dog called “Charlie”. Russell has learning difficulties and over the last few months has been caught by his mum lighting small fires in and around the home.
Katie’s mother is worried about her 5 year old daughter’s fascination with fire. Katie is always poking things in the fireplace, wanting to have aroma candles in her room and was just recently caught burning pieces of paper in her cubby.
15 year old Lachlan set fire to grassland behind a vacant home causing substantial property damage. He has a history of aggressive behaviour, diagnosed Attention Deficit Hypoactive Disorder (ADHD) and has been lighting fires on a regular basis over the past 12 months.
Although the above information on “Russell, Katie and Lachlan” is fictitious, they are representative of any of the 200+ young people per year who have been identified with a inappropriate fireplay or firesetting behaviour and visited by a JFAIP (Juvenile Fire Awareness and Intervention Program) firefighter.
Young people, matches, lighters and fire are a deadly mix.
- Younger children tend to light fires in and around their homes and rarely intend to cause damage with fire.
- Older children are more likely to light fires away from the home, experiment and may be more motivated by peers.
There are several reasons why young people involve themselves in inappropriate fire behaviour these include:
• fascination with or curiousity about, the colour, light and energy released by flames.
• attention seeking behaviour that manifests through fire lighting. This may be in response to a change in their family situation or pressures resulting from learning or social difficulties.
• peer pressure is a common cause of fire lighting and is generally associated with low self-esteem.
• anger and revenge associated with family or friendship problems can trigger fire lighting.
• fires resulting from malicious or mischievous behaviour can be caused by a young person who is experiencing family or social difficulties.
History
The Juvenile Fire Awareness and Intervention Program (JFAIP) began in response to the joint concerns of the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board (MFB) and the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH). The MFB approached Professor Robert Adler at the RCH for guidance and assistance in the establishment of a program for children/young people who have a fireplay or firesetting behaviour.
Today JFAIP is a joint program between MFB and CFA. The JFAIP Steering Committee monitors and sets the strategic direction of the program through a quality assurance process.
About the program
The program is conducted by the JFAIP firefighter in accordance with established quality of assurances in relation to case management performance. It is tailored towards the young person using resources and approaches that are appropriate to the young person’s age and maturity, the frequency and severity of their fires.
The firefighter aims to develop within the young person a greater respect for fire and awareness of consequences of its misuse. Importantly, at the same time, the benefits of fire are explained and the young person is taught that fire is a “tool, not a toy”.
The Juvenile Fire Awareness and Intervention Program is:
- Home-based, free of charge confidential service delivered State-wide by specially trained MFB and CFA firefighter.
- All Victorian children between the ages of 6 and 17 are eligible to participate in JFAIP.
The program is voluntary (unless it is a condition of a court order) and no child/young person is denied access to the program (unless otherwise directed by their mental health professional).
If you have discovered:
- burnt matches or papers,
- or if you suspect that your child is involved in fire setting or fireplay
- or if you need advice or assistance regarding your child’s firelighting
Please contact the JFAIP State-Coordinator on 1300 309 988 or email jfaipoffice@mfb.vic.gov.au
More information about how the program is run can be found at Juvenile Fire Awareness and Intervention Program (JFAIP)
Download
JFAIP Brochure (414kb)
JFAIP Poster (948 kb)