Does Your Teen Set Things On Fire?

Arson is the willful act of setting something on fire, often property and frequently, in the case of vandalism, derelict buildings. It is regarded as an extremely serious crime, because of the very real possibility of someone being hurt, possibly fatally as a result of arson. In most countries in the world, arson is punishable by a prison sentence and if someone dies because of arson, in some countries this is regarded as murder, not negligent homicide or manslaughter.

Children are often fascinated by fire and will imitate adults, using lighters or striking matches, sometimes with tragic outcomes. Most parents are very aware of this, and spend a great deal of time, warning children of the dangers, and keeping anything flammable, well out of reach. As children grow up, they learn the true danger of fire and stop experimenting with flame.

There are three reasons for children to be fascinated by fire, one is curiosity, which most grow out of, another is specific mental illness that manifests itself in fire setting, and the third reason is, as part of an emotional disorder, either temporary or developing, accompanied by other anti-social behavior. About one in every four fires is set deliberately and at least half of these acts of arson are committed by youths under 18 years old. A terrifying statistic is that of the arsonists arrested, over 50% were children and a chilling 3 % of these were under 10 years old.

What are the characteristics of teenage fire setters? The majority of teens that set fires have been doing so undetected for a period of time, perhaps contained in buckets in the back yard or out in the woods, but generally in semi safe conditions. Their fire play is experimental at first, but fire seems to fascinate them and if they have underlying psychological problems, this literally feeds their obsession with fire until the need to set larger fires results in arson. These teenagers may be doing badly at school, be easily influenced by their peers and lacking in social skills.

Fire is a medium they are not scared of, as they do not fully realize its danger, but the control of it, acts as an adrenaline rush, and the destructive power gives them a thrill. No parent should ignore a child who plays with fire, however young the child. Too often a fire setting incident is put down to foolishness and lack of understanding. Arson is a felony, and as such, every parent needs to make their teenager aware of how serious fire setting truly is, and the consequences both in terms of danger and the law. Teenagers who persist in fire play, must get help, they must receive therapy and intervention before their behavior causes a death.