Firesetting and Youth

The topic of firesetting behaviors with children and adolescents gets very little public press and therefore is generally poorly understood by most people. We hear about arson as an adult criminal activity with more frequency and attribute this often to suspicious, insurance-generating firesetting activity. When talking about firesetting that involves children or teens, we can learn more.

Stat: About 1 in every 4 fires is intentionally set -- and almost half of these fires were set by youth under the age of 18.

Stat: According to the FBI, juvenile firesetters accounted for roughly half (at least 49%) or more of those arrested for arson.

Stat: Juvenile arson and youth-set fires result in over 300 deaths and 2,000 injuries annually, and $300 million in property damage and more than 400,000 incidents annually.

Juvenile firesetters are comprised of 3 distinct age groups & types.

1. Under age 7, mostly boys – fires generally started by accident or curiosity


2. Children age 8-12 – some of this activity is still curiosity or accident related but a greater number of these fires are set as a result of a reaction to the child’s psychological distress


3. Teens age 13-18 – This group of teens generally has as history, often undetected, of fireplay and firesetting behavior and like the previous age group is a result of unresolved psychological stress. The firesetting behavior of this older group is now more deliberate and malicious in nature.

Characteristics of firesetters and other pertinent information about this maladaptive and dangerous behavior are clearly documented. See this article on Firesetting for more detailed information.