Youth Firesetting Prevention and Intervention Team

Youth Firesetting Prevention and Intervention Team | City of Winston-Salem, NC Winston-Salem Fire & Rescue badge

Children start fires based on curiosity without regard to consequences or engage in thrill-seeking behavior mirroring the videos they find on the internet. These children can benefit from counseling and education, allowing them to understand the dangers and consequences of this behavior before a tragedy occurs.

The initial interview with the child is done by a member(s) of the YFPI Task Force. This allows us to identify and develop a customized plan for the child. Should the counseling team identify the fire-setting behavior to be a symptom of a mental health crisis, the child would be referred to the proper agency for care. Educational sessions would occur at a Winston-Salem Fire Department facility and be run by the Youth Fire Intervention Specialists.

This program exists because every year in the United States, there are an average of 49,000 fires started by children playing with fire. According to the National Fire Protection Association, the vast majority of these fires start in the bedroom at home, and most fires that result in a child’s injury or death began as one they started themselves.

Curiosity and Experimentation

Lack of understanding of the power of fire
Low impulse control
Active Learners
Did not consider consequences.
- These children often try to put out the fire. There is no malice or intent to harm property or people.
Lack of supervision

Crisis/Troubled/Cry-for-help:

Calling attention to a problem
May have had a recent crisis or trauma
May be a victim of abuse
May have poor coping or problem-solving skills

Thrill-Seeking/Risk-Taking:

Teenaged
Experimenting with fire and other dangerous devices
Fails to think of consequences
Peer pressure may be involved

Delinquent/Criminal/Strategic

Willful intent to cause harm and destruction
Targets are typically schools, abandoned buildings, and unpopulated areas
Influenced by peer pressure and may want attention

Pathological/Severely Disturbed/Cognitively Impaired/Thought-Disordered

Continues until intervention is provided
Fires may have a pattern or be part of a ritual
Extremely dangerous to themselves and the community

40 percent of people arrested for arson fires in the United States are between the ages of 10 and 18, and this is often part of a progressive pattern of fire play and experimentation. The purpose of the Winston-Salem Fire Department Youth Fire Intervention Program is to stop this behavior before it escalates. Specially trained youth fire intervention specialists are on staff at the Winston-Salem Fire Department and work with mental health professionals to identify the best way to help. There is no cost for the screening, and all educational sessions run by the Winston-Salem Youth Fire Intervention Team are free for Winston-Salem residents.

Call Jason Councilman 336-403-5937 to arrange an intervention screening. If you feel there is an immediate danger to the child, yourself, or others, call 911 immediately.

City of Winston-Salem - City Hall 101 North Main Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Bryce A. Stuart Municipal Building 100 East First Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2511 Winston-Salem, NC 27102

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Youth Firesetting Prevention and Intervention Team

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