Additional Resources

Resources:  Obtain More Information on Youth Firesetting and Fire Misuse

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA):  www.nfpa.org
An international non-profit organization whose mission is "...to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education."  Fact sheets, research data, and safety tip sheets on youth firesetting are available through their website.  Also contains NFPA 1035 "Standard on Fire and Life Safety Educator, Public Information Officer, Youth Firesetter Intervention Specialist and Youth Firesetter Program Manager Professional Qualifications."

YFIRES (Youth Firesetting Information Repository & Evaluation System):  www.yfires.com
An online data repository and collection tool for youth fire misuse.  It also provides additional youth firesetting prevention and intervention resources and educational opportunities.  Click here to read a USFA Coffee Break Bulletin on YFIRES.

United States Fire Administration (USFA) Prevent Youth Firesetting and Fire is Everyone's Fight Campaigns: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/arson/prevent-youth-firesetting/ and https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa_332b.pdf
USFA and its partners focus public attention on the importance of a collaborative effort with fire and emergency service departments, law enforcement, mental health, social services, schools, and juvenile justice to help reduce the occurrence of youth engaged with fire.

USFA National Fire Academy (NFA) Training Courses on Youth Firesetting Prevention and Intervention:  https://www.usfa.fema.gov/nfa/courses/ 

Fireproof Children, Prevention 1st, and Community Health Strategies:  www.fireproofchildren.com and https://prevention1st.org/
Fire safety education for children, youth and families, and those who serve them.  Resources include "Juvenile Firesetting: A Community Guide to Prevention and Intervention," "Before the Fire: Prevention Works," and "After the Fire: The Teachable Moment."

Minnesota State Fire Marshal Office:  https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/sfm/for-families/youth-firesetting/Pages/default.aspx

Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal:  https://www.oregon.gov/osp/programs/sfm/Pages/default.aspx


Safety Education Programs

Two important components of preventing youth fire misuse are educating children on safe behaviors and critical thinking skills. Children must develop thinking skills on how to anticipate the consequences of their/others' actions, assess their surrounding environment for potential dangers, implement appropriate hazard-avoidance strategies, and initiate an emergency response when necessary [Klas et al, 2015].  Click here to see a list of available educational programs that can assist professionals to teach children essential safe behaviors and thinking skills.

Professional Training on Youth Firesetting Prevention and Intervention

Click here to see an additional list of available training opportunities for professionals.

Professional Publications on Youth Firesetting

Ahrns-Klas KS, Wahl WL, Hemmila MR, Wang SC. Do burn centers provide juvenile firesetter intervention? J Burn Care Res 2012;33(2):272-8.

Ahrns-Klas KS. The new epidemic: displays of risky fire use in social media. American Burn Association Burn and Fire Prevention Newsletter:  Volume 5. March 2010.

Campbell R. Playing with fire: Non-structure fires and Playing with fire: Structure fires. National Fire Protection Association, May 2021. Available online:  https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-tools/US-Fire-Problem/Playing-with-fire

Campbell R. Intentional fires. National Fire Protection Association, July 2017. Available online:  https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-tools/US-Fire-Problem/Intentional-fires

Foster J. Children and teenagers who set fires:  why they do it and how to help. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 2019.

Franklin GA, Pucci PS, Arbabi S, Brandt MM, Wahl WL, Taheri PA. Decreased juvenile arson and firesetting recidivism after implementation of a multidisciplinary prevention program. J Trauma 2002;53(2):260-6.

Giesler MP. Fire and life safety educator: Principles and practices, 2nd Ed. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2018.

International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA). Speaking of fire: Youth firesetters. Special edition, 2015.

Johnson R, Klas K, Jacobs E, Grace E, Murillo M. Clinical Forensic Issues in Child Trauma Stemming from Juvenile Fire Setting and Bomb Making: Culturally Responsive Risk Assessment and Treatment Paradigm for Rural Settings. In: Baker M, Ford J, Canfield B, Grabb T, editors. Identifying, Treating, and Preventing Childhood Trauma in Rural Communities. Hershey, PA: IGI Global; 2016.

Johnston K and Tyler N. The effectiveness of fire safety education interventions for young people who set fires: A systemic review. Aggression and Violent Behavior 2022;64:101743.

Klas KS. Using outcome data to create, sustain, and expand youth firesetting prevention and intervention. Vision 20/20 Model Performance in Community Risk Reduction Symposium 6, February 2020. Presentation and overview handout available online at Vision 20/20.

Klas KS. Are you listening now?: The million dollar cry for help. Match Book issue 4, Spring 2014.

Kolko DJ (Ed.). Handbook on firesetting in children and youth. Elsevier, Inc. 2002.

Kolko DJ. Efficacy of cognitive-behavioral treatment and fire safety education for children who set fires: initial and follow-up outcomes. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2001;42(3):359-69.

Kolko DJ, Day BT, Bridge JA, Kazdin AE. Two-year prediction of children's firesetting in clinically referred and nonreferred samples. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2001;42(3):371-80.

Kolko DJ and Vernberg EM. Assessment and intervention with children and adolescents who misuse fire: Practitioner guide. Oxford University Press, 2017.

Lambie I, Ioane J, Randell I, Seymour F. Offending behaviours of child and adolescent firesetters over a 10-year follow-up. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2013 Dec;54(12):1295-307.

Lambie I, Randell I. Creating a firestorm: a review of children who deliberately light fires. Clin Psychol Rev 2011;31(3):307-27.

MacKay S, Paglia-Boak A, Henderson J, Marton P, Adlaf E. Epidemiology of firesetting in adolescents: mental health and substance use correlates. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2009;50(10):1282-90.

Match Book: A Journal on the Prevention & Treatment of Youth Firesetting: http://www.matchbookjournal.org/journal-issues/current-issue/

National Association of State Fire Marshals. Juvenile firesetter intervention research project: final report. March 2001.

Putnam CT, Kirkpatrick JT. Juvenile firesetting: a research overview. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, May 2005.

Roman J (Interview with KS Klas). Taking on Risk at its Source. National Fire Protection Association - NFPA Journal and podcast, January 2024.

Root C, Mackay S, Henderson J, Del Bove G, Warling D. The link between maltreatment and juvenile firesetting: correlates and underlying mechanisms. Child Abuse Negl 2008;32(2):161-76.

Schnitzer PG, Dykstra HK. Social and Demographic Characteristics and the Contribution of Fireplay to Fire-Related Mortality Among Children in the U.S., 2004-2016. Am J Prev Med. 2020 Dec;59(6):796-804.

Sharp FL, Blaakman SW, Cole EC, Cole RE. Evidence-based multidisciplinary strategies for working with children who set fires. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc 2006;11(6):329-337.

Slavkin ML. What every clinician needs to know about juvenile firesetters. Psychiatr Serv 2002;53(10):1237-8.

Stadolnik RF. Drawn to the flame: assessment and treatment of juvenile firesetting behavior. Professional Resource Press, Sarasota, FL, 2000.

Tyler N, Gannon TA, Ciardha CÓ, Ogloff JR, Stadolnik R. Deliberate firesetting: an international public health issue. Lancet Public Health. 2019;4(8):e371-e372.

United States Fire Administration. Special Report: Arson and Juveniles: Responding to the Violence, USFA-TR-095, 1998.