children playing with fire
TRANSCRIPT
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRE
Northeast Juvenile Firesetting Task Force
November 19, 2009
Prepared by: Jennifer D. Flynn
Given by: Marty Ahrens
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PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
NFPA’s Data SourcesTerminology
Fireplay vs. FiresettingDefinition of Child
NFPA’s Method for AnalysisThe StatsWhat’s being done about it?
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NFPA’S DATA SOURCES
NFIRS Version 5.0 Incident Based Collected by
Firefighters Compiled by USFA
NFPA Annual Survey Sample Survey
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VARIABLES CAPTURED IN NFIRS
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Fireplay
Level of intent: Low Absence of malice
Firesetting
Level of intent: decidedly higher
FIREPLAY VS. FIRESETTING
Nuance between terms blends line between behavior that is rooted in
curiosity and behavior that is delinquent
Playing with Heat Source
Intentional
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TERMINOLOGY: CHILD
Under 18?
Under 15?
Under 10?
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HOW NFPA ANALYZES THE ISSUE
Issues Age does not have
to be a factor for reporting these fires
Fires are underestimated if we limit analysis by age of firesetter, due to underreporting of this information in NFIRS
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THE STATS ON CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRE
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRE
FiresCivilian Deaths
Civilian Injuries
Direct Property Damage
(in Millions)
Structure 12,400
(23%) 171 (98%) 867 (88%) $281 (98%)
Vehicle 900 (2%) 3 (2%) 19 (2%) $3 (1%)
Outside and Other
41,100
(76%) 1 (1%) 96 (10%) $3 (1%)
Total 54,400
(100%)
175 (100%)
982 (100%)
$287 (100%)
2003-2006 National Estimates Source: NFIRS 5.0 and NFPA Survey
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRE STRUCTURE FIRES BY PROPERTY TYPE
Home66%
Highway, street, or
parking lot7%
Preschool through grade
127%
Unclassified storage
5%
Other known property
14%
Unknown property
1%
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRETRENDS FROM 1980-2006
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
160,000
180,000
200,000 Home Structure Fires
All Structure Fires
Outside and Other Fires1995-1st full year
of child resistant lighters
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIREHOME STRUCTURE VS. OUTSIDE AND OTHER FIRES
28% occur in June, July, and August
29% occur on weekend
Peak during after school hours, before dinner
25% occur in July
34% occur on weekend
Peak during after school hours, before dinner
Home Structure Fires Outside and Other Fires
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIREHOME STRUCTURE VS. OUTSIDE AND OTHER FIRES
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRECONTAINED TRASH OR RUBBISH FIRES
NFIRS Version 5.0 has special coding rules for “confined or contained fires”
In 2003-2006, municipal fire departments responded to an estimated 900 contained home trash or rubbish fires. 11% of all home structure fires involving child
play 1% of civilian injuries No reported deaths
One-third of school child-play structure fires
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRELEADING HEAT SOURCES IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
44%
18%
6%
66%
14%
1%
62%
19%
7%
52%
19%10%
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%
Lighter Match Candle
Fires Civilian Deaths Civilian Injuries Direct Property Damage
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRE: HEAT SOURCES IN JULY OUTSIDE AND OTHER FIRES
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRELEADING ITEMS FIRST IGNITED IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRELEADING AREA OF ORIGIN IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
42%
6% 4% 4% 3%
61%
6% 6% 4% 3%
48%
6% 5% 5% 5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Bedroom Living room Closet Unclassified function area
Bathroom
All Home FiresLighter FiresMatch Fires
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIREVICTIM CHARACTERISTICS IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
50%
21%
3% 1%
25%20%
14%
6%3%
57%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Under 5 5-10 11-14 15-17 Over 17Age of Victim
Civilian DeathsCivilian Injuries
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRERISK OF DEATH OR INJURY IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
7.3
2.6
0.60.3 0.3
2.9
1.81.1 0.8 0.8
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Under 5 5-10 11-14 15-17 Over 17Age of Victim
Risk of Civilian Deaths
Risk of Civilian Injuries
Risk for Total Population
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRECHARACTERISTICS OF STARTER IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRECHARACTERISTICS OF STARTER IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
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CHILDREN PLAYING WITH FIRECIVILIAN DEATHS BY AGE OF FIRESETTER AND VICTIMS IN HOME STRUCTURE FIRES
% of child playing fires by age of firesetter% of civilian deaths by age of firesetter% of civilian deaths by age of victim
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WHAT’S BEING DONE ABOUT IT?
Educational ProgramsPublic Service AnnouncementsResearch on firesetting behaviorChild-resistant lighter legislationNovelty light legislation
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EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
Learn Not to Burn® Preschool Program
Stresses positive, practical fire safety behaviors
Multidisciplinary approach to reduce fire deaths and injuries
Focus: children ages 3 to 5 years old
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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS
PSA to teach preschoolers to tell grown-ups if they see matches or lighters
Effective strategies need to focus on curriculum, where kids interact with adults
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RESEARCH ON FIRESETTING BEHAVIOR
Studies demonstrate many young children who start fires may be in crisis
Age, gender, family type, and socioeconomic status are correlated with firesetting behavior
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CHILD-RESISTANT LIGHTER LEGISLATION
Consumer Product Safety Commission set mandatory standards in 1994
Lighters must resist the efforts of 85% of the children to operate them in a specific test
More than 95% of the estimated half-billion lighters purchased annually in the U.S. are covered by this standard
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NOVELTY LIGHTER LEGISLATION
New descriptor code added to NFIRS in 2008.
As of October 2009, 9 states have passed and 6 have introduced legislation
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IN SUMMARY
There are several approaches to analyzing the issue, no one best way
Playing with heat source fires are on the decline, but there’s more work to be done