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Is Your Child Playing With Fire?
Why do Children Set Fires?
Children and young people start to play with fire for various reasons, ranging from natural curiosity to attention seeking.
Without help and guidance, fire setting behaviour can increase and lead to more serious consequences such as serious personal injury and damage to homes, schools and property.
What are the Signs of Regular Fire Setting?
Small burn holes in carpets, charred paper in sinks or bins; matches or lighters hidden in your child's bedroom, coat or school bag; an unusual fascination with fire; unexplained fires in or around your home.
To date MORE THAN HALF of all fire incidents LFRS has attended were started deliberately! Most of these were small fires started by children in bins or on grassland. However by addressing the issues earlier and sensitively this number can be effectively reduced.
Advice for Parents and Guardians
- Make sure you have working smoke alarms fitted in your home.
- Make sure matches and lighters are locked away and out of reach of children and young people.
- Carry out regular checks for signs of fire setting such as burns on carpets, beds or furniture, or hidden matches or lighters.
- Never leave a child alone in the house, even for small periods of time.
- Explain to your child how dangerous fire can be.
- Check where your child is playing after school.
- Ask for help; our service is free of charge!
FireCare
LFRS offers its free, confidential FireCare service to any fire setter up to 17 years old. In most cases FireCare involves only two home visits to the family by two advisors; we aim to educate the whole family about fire safety. However, for young people with more complex problems, we will make a series of visits, referring to other agencies when appropriate. For more information on FireCare, click here
We will accept referrals from anybody, but the permission of the parent/guardian must be given.
