Spring 2009

Oregon passes banon toylike lighters!*Governor Kulongoskisigned HB 2365 into law onMarch 4, 2009. The lawbanning toylike lighters

goes into effect on June 2, makingOregon the third state to pass aban, after Maine and Tennessee.On February 23 the Oregon Senatepassed HB 2365, a bill banning themanufacture, sale, and distribu-tion of toylike (novelty) lighters.The Senate vote came just nineteendays after a unanimous pass votefrom the House of Representatives.Chair of the House ConsumerProtection Committee, Represen-tative Paul Holvey (D-Eugene),and Representative GregMatthews (D-Gresham), who isalso a Gresham firefighter, carriedthe bill to the House floor whileSenators Suzanne Bonamici (D-Washington County/Portland)and Larry George (R-Sherwood)carried the bill to the Senate floor.Under the law, toylike lighterswith features attractive to children,including visual effects, flashinglights, musical sounds, and toy-like designs are prohibited frombeing sold, distributed, or manu-factured for the purpose of sale ordistribution in Oregon.

Since 2003, it has been the vision ofthe Office of State Fire Marshal tohave toylike lighter bans on a stateand national level.The Oregon Fire Safety Coalition,chaired by retired Tualatin ValleyFire and Rescue Division Chief TimBirr, brought stakeholders togetherto support the concept.The coalition gathered more stake-holders in support than space willallow us to print. The coalitionincluded forty-five Oregon firedepartments or districts and cities orboards; fourteen fire service associa-tions, including Western Fire ChiefsAssociation, National Fire Protec-tion Association, and the NationalAssociation of State Fire Marshals;five hospitals and seven individuals.Prior to passage of the state law, twoOregon cities banned the lighters —Rogue River and Sandy. Keizer andClatskanie passed a resolution tosupport statewide legislation.The National Association of StateFire Marshals and The LighterAssociation, a national trade group,are supporting an effort to bantoylike lighters across the country.

*Hot Issues usually isn’t given to exclama-tion points, but this news warrants it.

Ed. note. Those of you whohave been working so hard topass toylike lighter bans withinyour local jurisdiction or statehave a lot to celebrate. Six stateshave passed bans as Hot Issuesgoes to print and many banshave been enacted at the city orcounty level. Congratulations!

In this edition you will find thelatest news about toylike lighterbans and “lessons learned” frompeople who were working toenact bans.

Check the Office of State FireMarshal’s Web site for moreinformation: http://www.oregon.gov/OSP/SFM/Novelty_Toylike_Lighters.shtml

Inside Hot Issues2/3 Toylike lighter action nationally

and in Europe

4 From Spark to FinishWhat story might firesettingtell?

5/6 Lessons learned about passingtoylike lighter legislation …Florida, Virginia

7 Oregon’s approach to fireeducation

8 Kudos to Tennessee

Hot Issues, page 2

New resource: USFA novelty lighter Web site

T im O’Dowd, United States Fire Administra-tion/FEMA, contacted Hot Issues recently withthe news USFA is launching a comprehensive

Web presence tracking the progress of toylikelighter bans across the United States. Part of thesite’s content will include the graphic includedabove. The map will be maintained with the mostcurrent information. The site’s Web address is http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/noveltylighters.O’Dowd reports that six states to date have beensuccessful in passing legislation. In order of pas-

sage they are Maine, Tennessee, Oregon, Arkansasthe Commonwealth of Virginia, and Washington.They are shown on the map in green.The Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal and HotIssues extend thanks to USFA and Tim for makingthis resource available to everyone. If you havetoylike lighter news to share, contact Tim atTim.ODowd@dhs.gov.

Update on EUlighter ban legislation

A year ago the EU banned non-child-resistantlighters and lighters that in any shape or formresemble objects commonly recognized as appealingto children.Since the ban’s passage, the member states havebeen actively enforcing the law. European UnionMember States worked together in a joint marketsurveillance action, with funding provided by theEuropean Commission, to perform inspections.Inspections were performed both at customs andretailers.At the one-year anniversary, both the ban and thejoint surveillance action have been termed a success.As a result of the inspections, more than 600 lighterswere removed from the market.

Posters to give away

The Office of State FireMarshal has toylike

lighter ban campaignposters left in stock. Weare offering them, onehundred at a time, toanyone who wants them— until they are gone.There are two differentposters, in English asshown and in Spanish.Contact Judy Okulitch atJudy.OKULITCH@state.or.us.to request some.

Hot Issues, page 3

111TH CONGRESS1ST SESSION

To prohibit the introduction or delivery for introduction intointerstate commerce of novelty lighters, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESAPRIL 22, 2009

Mr. MICHAUD introduced the following bill; which was referred tothe Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILLTo prohibit the introduction or delivery for introduction

into interstate commerce of novelty lighters, and forother purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 4 This Act may be cited as the “Protect Children 5 from Dangerous Lighters Act of 2009.” 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress makes the following findings: 8 (1) Lighters are inherently dangerous products 9 containing flammable fuel. 1 (2) If lighters are used incorrectly or used by 2 children, dangerous and damaging consequences 3 may result. 4 (3) Novelty lighters are easily mistaken by chil- 5 dren and adults as children’s toys or as common 6 household items. 7 (4) Novelty lighters have been the cause of 8 many personal injuries to children and adults and 9 property damage throughout the United States.10 SEC. 3. NOVELTY LIGHTER DEFINED.11 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act, the term “novelty12 lighter” means a device typically used for the igniting13 or lighting of cigarettes, cigars, or pipes that has a toy-14 like appearance, has entertaining audio or visual effects,15 or resembles in any way in form or function an item that16 is commonly recognized as appealing, attractive, or17 intended for use by children of 10 years of age or

younger, including18 such a device that takes toy-like physical forms, in-19 cluding toy animals, cartoon characters, cars, boats, air-20 planes, common household items, weapons, cell phones,21 batteries, food, beverages, musical instruments, and22 watches.23 (b) EXCLUSION.—Such term does not include24 standard disposable and refillable lighters that are 1 printed or decorated with logos, labels, decals, artwork, 2 or heat shrinkable sleeves. 3 SEC. 4. BAN ON NOVELTY LIGHTERS. 4 (a) BANNED HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE.—A 5 novelty lighter shall be treated as a banned hazard-

ous substance 6 as defined in section 2 of the Federal Hazardous Sub- 7 stances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261) and the prohibitions set 8 out in section 4 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 1263) shall apply 9 to novelty lighters.10 (b) APPLICATION.—Subsection (a) applies to a11 novelty lighter—12 (1) manufactured on or after January 1, 1980;13 and14 (2) that is not considered by the Consumer15 Product Safety Commission to be an antique or an16 item with significant artistic value.

H. R. 2050Federal legislationSenator Wyden (D-Oregon) introducedSenate Bill 723 “to prohibit the introductionor delivery for introduction into interstatecommerce of lighters, and for other pur-poses” in March of this year. SenatorsCollins (R-ME), Dodd (D-CT) and Carper (D-DE) were co-signers on the bill.S. 723 was read twice and referred to theCommittee on Commerce, Science, andTransportation.S. 723 is identical to the House version of thebill, H. R. 2050. The bill has been referred tothe House Energy and Commerce Commit-tee. The bill is reprinted to the right and thecommittee members are shown below. If youwish to help move this bill forward, emailyour representative and/or members of thecommittee. Contact information for yourrepresentative can be found atwww.house.gov/.

Members of the House Energy and CommerceCommittee in the 111th Congress:Henry A. Waxman, CA, ChairJoe Barton, TX, Ranking MemberJohn D. Dingell, MI, Chair Emeritus

Mike Ross, AR John B. Shadegg, AZLois Capps, CA Anna G. Eshoo, CAJane Harman, CA Mary Bono Mack, CADoris O. Matsui, CA Jerry McNerney, CAGeorge Radanovich, CA Diana DeGette, COChristopher S. Murphy, CT Cliff Stearns, FLKathy Castor, FL Nathan Deal, GAJohn Barrow, GA Phil Gingrey, GABruce L. Braley, IA Bobby L. Rush, ILJan Schakowsky, IL John Shimkus, ILSteve Buyer, IN Baron P. Hill, INEd Whitfield, KY Steve Scalise, LACharlie Melancon, LA Edward J. Markey, MAJohn P. Sarbanes, MD Mike Rogers, MIFred Upton, MI Bart Stupak, MIRoy Blunt, MO G.K. Butterfield, NCSue Wilkins Myrick, NC Lee Terry, NEFrank Pallone, Jr., NJ Eliot L. Engel, NYAnthony D. Weiner, NY Zachary T. Space, OHJohn Sullivan, OK Betty Sutton, OHGreg Walden, OR Mike Doyle, PATim Murphy, PA Joseph R. Pitts, PAMarsha Blackburn, TN Bart Gordon, TNMichael C. Burgess, TX Charles A. Gonzalez, TXGene Green, TX Ralph M. Hall, TXJim Matheson, UT Rick Boucher, VADonna M. Christensen, VI Peter Welch, VTJay Inslee, WA Tammy Baldwin, WI

Hot Issues, page 4

What story mightfiresetting tell?

a case studyby Brad Jackson, Ph.D.A sixteen year old girl, Carrie, was picked up bythe police after attacking her adoptive mom, Lynn,in the parking lot at the phone store. Carrie hadgone over her phone minutes and charged up alarge bill. When her adoptive mom told her shewas going to lose her phone for a while, Carrieexploded and attacked physically. Carrie wastaken to the county juvenile assessment center forevaluation. During the interview, Carrie alsotalked about a history of firesetting behavior.This initial presentation might suggest a pattern ofdelinquent behavior or conduct problems. However,in follow-up interviews regarding the explosiveoutburst, she indicated she didn’t even rememberacting aggressively and simply felt “her worldwas being taken away from her.”Carrie was offered a plea agreement and entered adiversion program that required her to completecommunity service, pay a fine, re-enter therapy,and attend the juvenile firesetting interventionprogram at The Children’s Hospital. During thefiresetting evaluation, our team began looking forpossible triggers for her firesetting behavior aswell as for her explosive outburst. We found someclues in her history and in psychological testing.Carrie was adopted after early neglect and abuseby her biological mother. The neglect involvedlong periods of unattended time during the day.Carrie initially described “feeling bored,” but alsoremembered hours of loneliness, worry, and fearregarding her biological mother’s reactions. Carriebecame extremely alert and on guard for changesin her world. Interestingly, Carrie’s more recentfire-setting behavior also seemed to occur whenshe described “feeling bored.” During thetreatment program, Carrie completed a “firegraph” linking thoughts and feelings to herfiresetting behavior. She was finally able toidentify that setting fire was calming and soothingfor her and often led to day-dreaming of being inanother place. We traced this story back to theearliest firesetting she could remember … lightingher biological mother’s cigarettes while she wasalone as a child, watching the flame ignite them,and then slowly burning before she put them out.

From Spark to FinishWestern Juvenile Firesetting Conference

Come join us in colorful Colorado as the aspen leaves turn and cool evenings emer

The Children’s Hospital is thrilled to hostFrom Spark to Finish

the 2009 Western Juvenile Firesetting Conferenceat the hospital’s NEW state-of-the-art conference

facility in Aurora, Colorado.Co-sponsored by

Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal,Fire Safe Children & Familes Program in OregonBurn Institute of San Diego, Oregon Burn Center

Call for proposals: If you are interested in presenting, submityour name, organization, presentation title, brief description,two learning objectives, estimated time (talk, workshop, orposter), audiovisual needs, and target audience by June 15th.Contact: Veronica Garza at The Children’s Hospital to submitpresentation proposals and to receive conference updates.Veronica.Garza@tchden.org or 720-777-6661.

She described this early experience as calming andsoothing for her as a young child.For Carrie, firesetting had become a way of copingwith overwhelming emotions when no one else wasthere to nurture her. Thankfully she has been adoptedinto a loving and caring home where she has begun toallow others to care for her and where she is learningnew ways of calming herself. The outburst over thecell phone shows how fragile her world can feel, sothis will likely be a long process.This case demonstrates the important role of juvenile

For conference updates& registration information

http://www1.thechildrenshospital.org/events

Hot Issues, page 5

assessment centers, law enforcement, and juvenilejustice in identifying risk for firesetting behavior.Their screening, evaluation, and recommendationsensured this young lady and her adoptive momreceived appropriate referrals, emotional assistance,and support. We look forward to highlighting thisvital continuum in our intervention and preventionefforts at the Western Juvenile Firesetting Conferencehosted this year in Denver, CO. Hope you can join us.

About the author. Brad Jackson is the director of the JuvenileFiresetting Evaluation and Treatment Program at The Children’sHospital.

From Spark to Finishenile Firesetting Conference

Come join us in colorful Colorado as the aspen leaves turn and cool evenings emerge.

Conference highlights will include:• Intervention across the continuum: fire service

first responders, investigation, prosecution,diversion, education, mental health treatment,residential, and family services

• Juvenile assessment centers: models forintegrated response within the juvenile justicesystem

• Culturally sensitive & family-focusedintervention

• Assessment of juvenile firesetting behavior:enhancing your assessment approaches

• Tackling firesetting prevention andintervention at the legislative level

• Updates on national fire safety efforts• The role of hospital burn units in prevention,

intervention, and treatment, includingadvances in burn treatment, tours of the burncenter, and models of collaboration betweenmedical, mental health, human services,juvenile justice, and fire service personnel

We look forward to seeing you thisFall in Colorado!!

Lessons learned inFlorida

Fire service organizations in Florida came togetherthis year to support proposed legislation banningthe sale of toylike lighters in Florida. Unfortunately,our first attempt at passing this legislation failed inthe Senate when the bill was caught in the middleof political posturing over an entirely differentissue.We had slightly better luck on the House side.There were a few issues, but we were able to resolvemost of them through meetings and othercommunications.The bill passed two committeesand was very likely headed to the floor until theproblems came up in the Senate.Issues that came up regarding our bill:- Possible conflict with the CPSC requirements.- One retail group came out in opposition of thebill. The efforts did not become an issue or hamperthe bill’s progress.- The strongest opposition was from the Houseside, where the NRA came out in opposition andthreatened to have the bill killed if the word gunwas not removed from the bill.- The biggest issue, however, was the legislators’lack of understanding of toylike lighters and thedanger they present. We often heard statementssuch as “this is a do nothing bill,” and “we havemore important pressing issues to deal with.” Wemust change these perceptions before next year’ssession.As we move forward, we will be working with ourcurrent sponsors’ support to file the bill again nextyear. We will also establish a line of communicationwith those in opposition to better educate themabout the dangers presented by these lighters.

October 8 – 9, 2009The Children’s Hospital13123 East 16th Avenue

Aurora, CO 80045

PARADE Conference passes resolutionsThe United States Fire Administration (USFA)hosted 140 fire prevention professionals for thefifth National PARADE (Prevention Advocacy andData Exchange) Conference in May.The 2009 PARADE participants crafted and unani-mously passed two resolutions: on in support ofbanning the sale of toylike lighers and the secondsupporting the International Residential Code forfire sprinklers in on- and two-family dwellings andtownhouses. To review these resolutions, visit theUSFA Web site at www.usfa.dhs.gov/parade/.

Hot Issues, page 6

by Lt. Wanda Willis

On July 1, 2009, new legislation will go into effectin Virginia prohibiting the sale of novelty lighters tojuveniles under the age of eighteen. An importantaspect of the legislation is that all novelty lightersavailable for purchase at retail establishments shallbe located in a place that is not open to the generalpublic. This will help keep children from takingthese lighters and parents from accidently purchas-ing them.This was hard-fought legislation that took manytwists and turns on its way to becoming a law. In2006, our novelty lighter fire prevention weekdisplay caught the attention of a candidate runningfor a Virginia House of Delegates seat. After beingelected to office, Delegate Matt Lohr approachedthe Harrisonburg Fire Department about introduc-ing novelty lighter legislation at the Virginia Gen-eral Assembly. That year the proposed legislationasked for a full ban on novelty lighters but it failedin subcommittee. Though the committee memberswere sympathetic to the proposed legislation, theystated the wording would need to be changed andbrought back another year.In 2009 the Harrisonburg Fire Department decidedto pursue the legislation again. With the support ofthe Virginia Fire Chiefs Association, we were givenaccess to their lobbyist who kept us informed of theactions of the General Assembly. Lobbyist EdRhodes helped rewrite the legislation and providedday-by-day updates during the weeks we were atthe General Assembly. Safe Kids Worldwide pro-vided statistics and information from their PublicPolicy Division. Virginia Fire Prevention Associa-tion, Virginia Chapter of the International Associa-tion of Arson Investigators, Virginia Association ofVolunteer Rescue Squads, Virginia Association ofGovernmental EMS Administrators, Virginia EMSCouncils Directors Group, and the Virginia Chapterof the American Academy of Pediatrics also sup-ported the legislation. We stayed in the forefront oflegislators by speaking at several meetings of theGovernor’s Secure Commonwealth Panel.At one meeting another Delegate also become anadvocate for novelty lighter legislation. DelegateAlgie Howell (D) and Delegate Matt Lohr (R)brought the bipartisan legislation to the GeneralAssembly agenda.

The proposed novelty lighter legislation had to passthrough subcommittees in both the House of Del-egates and Senate. It then went to the full commit-tees before being voted on by both the full House ofDelegates and Senate. This was not an easy task andthe legislation was rewritten several times to accom-modate different opinions. The legislation wassigned by Governor Tim Kaine on March 30, 2009,and will go into effect on July 1, 2009.For communities and states looking to pass similarlegislation, I would recommend getting supportfrom your prevention and injury advocacy groups.Without their support we would not have hadaccess to our lobbyist who introduced us to del-egates and senators and advised us where to be andwhen we needed to be there. Secondly, be preparedwith up-to-date incidents both locally and nation-ally involving novelty lighters. We were able toanswer questions and concerns but also providedhandouts for the delegates and senators. And thelast and most important part is, never give up!There were times we thought the legislation wouldnot pass but with persistence and patience we wereable to obtain a positive result.If you have any questions about Virginia’s NoveltyLighter legislation please contact me at 540-432-7703or wandaw@harrisonburgva.gov.About the author. Lt. Wanda Willis is the fire preventioneducation specialist with the Harrisonburg Fire Department(Virginia).

Lessons learned in Virginia

Wanda sent Hot Issues this photo. Can you tellwhich cow is actually a lighter? (answer below)

The cow on the left is a lighter.

Hot Issues, page 7

Oregon’s approach to fire education

The Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM), in partner-ship with a cadre of professional Oregon healthteachers, is delivering trainings to Oregon teacherson Oregon’s fire awareness curriculums — What CanYou Do? (elementary level), and It’s up to You!(middle school level). Thus far, the team has deliv-ered regional trainings in Eugene, La Grande,Newport, Ontario and Portland. Attending teachersare taking the curriculums back to their schools andwill train fellow staff on them. So far, a total ofsixty-eight teachers have received the training.The fire department in each of the cities was thehost agency. Fire personnel also attended the train-ing and they will partner with the classroom teacheras the curriculums are being taught.Judy Okulitch, OSFM, said the goal of the curricu-lums is to provide quality fire education that willlead to preventing youth-set fires and to teachingyouths to become fire-safe adults.The Office of State Fire Marshal will soon publishits final fire awareness curriculum, Do the RightThing. This curriculum includes lessons that directlyenhance and expand classroom lessons in What CanYou Do? They are designed for delivery in theclassroom by fire service educators. Okulitch saidfire departments can become teaching partners,rather than serving as the sole source of classroomfire safety teaching — a role they can only fill astime permits and to the extent they are invited intoclassrooms.The curriculums provide structured fire safetyeducation on the reality of fire,fire prevention and safety, sur-vival skills (including earthquakeand tsunami lessons which arerequired by law in Oregonschools), and personal responsi-bility. The middle school curricu-lum also includes a unit abouthow media pieces are constructedand the influence media has onstudents’ perceptions of fire.Okulitch participated in a fullday retreat with members of thehealth cadre that is training

teachers on the elementary and middle school fireawareness curriculums. They reviewed theevaluations from the teachers on their experiencewith the materials and the training format. Some ofthe comments:

“I have never had any training in fire safety—extremely valuable.”“It is great to get updated materials. Before today,the curriculum I have been using is 20 years old.”“Thanks for giving us the curriculum. It is agreat new resource.”“Thanks for paying for my substitute. I otherwisecould not have attended.”“Make sure that administrators understandthe law about teaching fire safety eachmonth.”

As the comments show, the training model andcurriculums have been very successful. The cadre isfunded by a group of Oregon agencies and theOffice of State Fire Marshal has dedicated moneyand staff to support the trainings because of thehigh value it places on fire safety education.Hard-copy curriculums are available free of chargeonly to Oregon schools. Others may downloadthem from the OSFM Web site.Nineteen Eugene area teachers, the Oregon HealthCadre, and Eugene Fire and EMS are shown belowat the February training in Eugene.

Hot Issues, page 8

Oregon Office of State Fire MarshalDepartment of State PoliceJuvenile Firesetter Intervention Program4760 Portland Road NESalem, OR 97305-1760

Hot Issues is a quarterly newsletter of information and ideas for those concerned about juvenile with fire. It is published by the Oregon Office of State FireMarshal. Please submit news, announcements, articles, suggestions or resources for review to Hot Issues. In compliance with the Americans withDisabilities Act, this publication is available in alternate formats by calling 503.373.1540, ext. 230. Subscriptions are free of charge. Also available on theOffice of State Fire Marshal Web site: http://www.oregon.gov/OSP/SFM/

State Fire Marshal: Randy Simpson Program Coordinator: Judith S. Okulitch Editor:

Kudos to TennesseeIn Tennessee, the NewsChannel 5 Investigates teamtook two honors in the Tennessee Associated PressBroadcaster awards for the state’s “Best InvestigativeReporting” and “Best Public Affairs.”The award for “Best Public Affairs” went toNewsChannel 5’s investigation of toylike lighters.That project, led by investigator Jennifer Kraus,prompted lawmakers to ban the cigarette lightersthat children might mistake for toys.Jeff Huddleston, Tennessee State Fire Marshal’sOffice, led the effort to ban the lighters by callingattention to them and involving the Channel 5investigative reporter. Huddleston showed a groupof children between the ages of three and seven withsome toylike lighters. All the children thought thelighters were toys and began playing with them. Jeffsaid, “You’re taking something that is deadly andyou’re making it appealing to children and that’swrong.”Congratulations Jeff, Tennessee, and NewsChannel 5.

ASTM F400 standardAnother way you can help

The ASTM F400 is a standard that addresses safetyissues related to the function of all lighters such asflame height and extinction, structural integrity andlevels of pressure and fuel. It is the most compre-hensive lighter safety standard in existence.All members of the Lighter Association comply withthis voluntary standard. According to David Baker,General Counsel for the Lighter Association, “veryfew Chinese lighters fully comply with theserequirements. Published testing shows that from 77percent to 100 percent of Chinese lighters failedthird party testing of the lighters for compliancewith ASTM F400.”In 2004, CPSC held a public hearing on the petitionto make ASTM F400 mandatory. The National Assoc-iation of State Fire Marshals spoke in favor of makingthe standard mandatory for the U.S. as it is inCanada and Mexico. If it were mandatory, CPSC andCustoms could stop noncompliant lighters at theborder rather than waiting for them to enter thestream of commerce.CPSC has not yet issued a ruling on the standard. Ifyou want to help support it, contact David H. Baker,General Counsel, Lighter Association,www.lighterassociation.org or 202-253-4347