Juvenile Fire-Setters in Cross Cultural Perspective:
The London Sample

Wayne S. Wooden
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Introduction

     I have engaged in the study of juvenile fire-setters for more than a quarter of a century beginning in 1984 with the publication of my book: Children and Arson: America's Middle-Class Nightmare (New York: Plenum). In that earlier work, I noted how over 40 percent of America's acts of arson were committed by persons under the age of eighteen. By focusing more specifically on juvenile fire-setters in both a treatment program in San Bernardino County, California, as well as those juvenile arsonists incarcerated at the time in the California Youth Authority, four different types of juvenile fire-setters were presented. Further, in a comparative study of juvenile fire-setters with a matched group of non-fire-setters, several different behavioral characteristics were detailed which statistically distinguished the two groups.
     More recently, I and four research assistants analyzed 112 juvenile fire-setters who had been apprehended and treated in Sacramento County, California. (Wooden, Wayne S., Shaheen Jahangard­Mahboob, Geoff Smith, Alex S. Villanueva, and Erika A. Peterson, "Juvenile Fire-setters: Demographics, Behavioral Patterns, and Types of Youthful Offenders," in the National Social Science Journal (Volume 24 (2) 2005, pp. 180-220.
     This current paper continues similar research, and reports the results of a study I conducted in 2004-5 by examining the files of 132 fire-setters in London, England, provided me by the London Fire Brigade. (I am grateful for the assistance of Joanna Foster and her associates of the London Fire Intervention and Treatment Program for providing me with the complete access to their comprehensive case files; as well as for the participation of three research assistants (Melissa Barrett, Ryan Young, and Nickolas Papacs) who participated in the examination and analysis of the data from these files.)
     Arson is not uniquely an American phenomenon. Juvenile fire-setting in such countries as Australia, New Zealand, and England have been examined where the rates of arson are significantly less than those of the United States. In Australia, for instance, school-related fires are of chief concern due to the fact that eighty-five percent of school fires are reported to be arson-related. In New Zealand - where typical juvenile arson offenses also involve school fires - such incidents account for ninety percent of all fire damage to state property.
     Solid data on the overall incidences of arson in other countries is sparse. Although arson is a universal occurrence, attention in many countries is often directed towards identifying and combating other types of crimes where the actual numbers, dollar loss, and injury to persons are significantly higher than those pertaining to arson.

Juvenile Fire-Setting Behavior in London

     In England, where fire investigation teams have only been in operation since 1983, actual incidents of reported arson initially had been quite low by comparison to the United States. Actual figures for arson in England, however, might be due to how authorities in the past categorized the offense. Whereas the police contend only three percent of fires in one recent year were arson-related, the fire investigators claimed forty percent of the fires were arson (or "deliberate ignition," their technical term for arson).
     In London, fires set by delinquent youth seem to be racially motivated as well. Over the years, white youth gangs have been apprehended for torching Indian and Pakistani neighborhoods and commercial establishments in a continuation of skinhead racial tensions. Often graffiti (perhaps as a warning) is present before the setting of a fire. (By contrast, in recent years in the U.S., gang members may set "revenge" fires in other gang members' neighborhoods in response to their intruding into the other gangs' lucrative drug market.) Recent statistics collected by the London Fire Brigade note this and other patterns, including a marked increase in the numbers of juvenile fire-setters. Although not as extensive a problem as found in the United States, its presence, nevertheless, has been reason for concern.

The London Fire Brigade' Case Files

     As of spring 2004, at the time of this current study, the London Fire Brigade had slightly more than 400 cases in their files. (By contrast, in 2007, the number of files had more than tripled to 1,400, partly due to the increased publicity of the work of the London Fire Brigade and the British publics' readiness to bring problem juvenile fire-setting incidents to the authority's attention.)
     The collecting of these case files began in the year 2000. However, in the first year-and-a-half, the files were very sketchy as there were no uniform intake forms available, and various people wrote up the reports. Eventually the files were systemized, and the Fire Intervention Scheme Form became more widely used. This detailed three-page form, now automatically used by the Educational and Advisory Team that is assigned to a "suspicious fire set by a juvenile case," asks the following general information:

• gender (or sex) of the child
• age of the child. This is then grouped into four age brackets: (1 pre-school: up to, and including, age 4 (2) ages 5-thru-7; (3) ages 8-thru-ll; (4) ages 12-thru-I4; and other (ages 15 and older)
• number of visits by the intervention team which are classified as (l) one only; (2) a short program (up to five visits); or (3) a long program (over five visits)
• ethnic classification of the fire-setter. This is broken down into specific categories of white (British, Other white background, Irish); Asian or Asian British (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Other Asian background), Black or Black British (Caribbean, African, Other black background), Mixed (White and black Caribbean, White & black African, White & Asian, and Other mixed background), and Chinese or other ethnic group (Chinese, Other); and
• whether-or-not the youngster had siblings

     Other forms used by the investigative team would ask the youngster for a detailed description of the fire in question; and an explanation of what types of information, training, and treatment options were discussed. For instance, in terms of fire safety education issues, the educational and advisory team might focus on any or all of the following issues: the youngster's basic respect for fire; escape routes in a house where the fire might have been set; the presence or absence of smoke alarms; advise about the presence of smoking material; why fire is dangerous; what to do if a fire starts; what to do if one is cut off by fire; and the youngster's normal bed-time routines.
     Additionally, the forms also include a space to list specific recommendations to bring closure to the fire incident. Opportunities for follow-up visits by the investigative team, and other specific forms of follow-up services the family is to obtain, are also indicated on the form.
     Another section of the form for which data is collected pertains to the actual fire or fires that had been set. F or instance, the form lists source of ignition (e.g., matches, lighter, cigarette, cooker (appliance), other, or not known. The form asks also for the place of origin of the fire (the youngster's own bedroom, another room in the house, garage, another home, empty building, external areas, vehicles, or other).
     Important to the form (and to the treatment protocol) is the motive of the fire-setter. The investigator can check off (or tick) one of several from the following list: boredom, curiosity, attention-seeking, dependency, excitement, peer group pressure, anger or revenge, frustration, crime concealment, profit, or other.
     Part of the intervention team's duties is to assess the degree of fire safety in the household. One section of the form refers to the presence or absence of smoke detectors in the house (fitted, none operative, not fitted, and whether-or-not a smoke detector was provided by the team).
     There is a section for risk assessment results (high, medium or low), referral type (parent or guardian, fire service, court order, police, probation service, social services, school, and other).
     Finally, the form has a miscellaneous section. Here important questions pertaining to the youngster's history of previous fires, repeat offender, whether the child had been diagnosed with ADHD, unafraid of fire, remorse shown, whether other members of the household smoked, and social services or other agencies involved are identified.
     Typically included in the comprehensive files are copies of the police or arson investigators reports, and any additional forms completed by the treatment staff while interacting with the youthful offender.
     In many of the files, the youngster was asked to complete a set of twenty-four questions which pertain to the general topic: "What Have You Set Fire To?" These questions are very specific, asking, for instance: Do you stay to watch a fire after you have lit it? Have you set fire to paper in your bedroom? Have your fires caused any damage? Have you set fire to a school?
     Some twenty-seven questions also pertain to additional information under the heading: "About My Fires." The offenders are asked: Do you light fires when you are upset? Do you set fires when you are bored? Do you set fires when you are angry? Do you dream about fires? Would you like to burn down your school? Do you feel guilty after you have lit a fire?
     Finally, some fifteen questions are asked "About Myself." Questions include: Do you really hate school? Do your parents understand you? Is there someone living at home that you don't like? Have other people in your family also set fires? Would you like to be able to stop lighting fires?

Analysis of the Data

     Of the over 400 files collected by the London Fire Brigade up through mid-May 2004, it was decided to analyze the data from a representative sample to gain a profile of the types of juvenile fire-setters that had been seen by the London intervention team. Since the forms mentioned above had been recently developed and were now more widely used, it was decided to analyze the files that had been collected during the preceding year. Therefore, those files collected over a six-month period commencing April 1, 2003, through September 30, 2003, was the time frame examined.
     All files that fell under that six month period were examined in great detail. This included 180 files (or 45 percent of all the files collected (of 400). However, of those 180 files, many were incomplete with very little, if any, data. In other words, a referral may have come in to the London Fire Brigade Intervention office, a family member may have called expressing concern about the fire behavior of a youngster, but no follow-up intervention was able to take place (often because the family had suddenly moved and left no forwarding address). Or a suspicious fire-incident may have been reported but no person was ever identified as the instigator.
     From these initial 180 files, only 132 (or 72 percent) included sufficient data to be coded and analyzed. Therefore, the results to be reported in this paper, include an analysis of what data had been collected on the 132 cases from that six month period where there was sufficient information to code data, run frequencies, and conduct a statistical analysis (cross tabs) of what data had been collected.
     The following presents the findings (in percentages) of the general data (See Table 1).
     In summary, the London data indicated that the vast majority of fire-setters that were brought to the attention of the London Fire Brigade were males, Caucasian, younger in age, more typically a Playing With Matches or Crying For Help type of fire-setter, living with a single parent, and setting a fire in one location, inside of the house.
     When examining the data by type of fire-setter, the statistically significant findings included the following: not surprisingly, a high correlation with age (significance level = .0001). That is, the younger the fire-setter, the more likely he or she was a Playing With Matches type; and, as the age increased, there was the stronger likelihood that the youngster was one of the three other types.
     Compared to Caucasians, non-white youngsters disproportionately fell into one of two categories: either the Playing With Matches or the Severely Disturbed fire-setter (significance = .0001). The motives of the fire-setters proved statistically significant as well. Those who set fires out of curiosity were either Playing With Matches or Delinquent. The attention seekers were the Crying For Help type. The anger fire-setters were more typically the Severely Disturbed (significance = .02).
     The agency which did the referrals for treatment also varied, depending on fire-setter type. Parents referred their children for intervention evenly for all four types (significance = .02). The fire service, however, referred the youngsters who were Playing With Matches or Crying For Help types. The juvenile justice system referred those who were the Delinquent type. School referrals accounted for the three more serious types of fire-setters.
     Other significant findings included the following: single parents were more likely to have the Severely Disturbed type (significance = .03); the Playing With Matches type was more likely to set a fire in only one locale whereas the other three types more typically set their fires in a variety of locales (significance = .01); and the Playing With Matches type tended to set fires in their own bedrooms, compared to some other locale inside or outside of the home (significance = .02).
     In terms of gender, with respect to the females, the non-white group was twice the number of the white group. In terms of ethnicity, single parent households were more typical of the non-white fire­-setters in general, regardless of gender (significance = .01). Caucasians, compared to non-­Caucasians, were more likely to have set fires in several locales (significance = .03). And the motive behind the fire-setting behavior of non-Caucasians tended to be anger (significance = .0001).

A Brief Discussion of Specific Cases

The Playing with Matches Fire-Setter
     This type of fire-setter tends to be a younger child. Although there were many examples of this type of fire-setter in the Sacramento study sample published in the previous article, with respect to the London sample, the case files involved older children who more closely fit the category of one of the other three types of fire-setter.
The Crying for Help Fire-Setter
     One six-year old boy, "Aaron," had been fire setting since the age of five, and - according to his mother - "nothing deters him." The particular fire incident - which triggered the mother's response ­occurred after the child had set fire to his sister's bed, waking the family up via a smoke detector. The mother was able to extinguish the fire herself, and stated that she was "at her wits end" concerning her son.
     The child had attended the hospital twice due to burns suffered from playing with fire. He often sat and watched the fires, laughing at what he had done, and what had happened. Besides setting fire at home, the child had set fire to the carpet in his grandfather's house. He often left electrical appliances on, such as hair-dryers. When interviewed by treatment personnel, the boy appeared very shy, not wanting to make eye contact and barely speaking. The family was advised to see the services of an educational psychologist.
     Another incident involved three brothers. The fire started in the bedroom, after two of the three children took a lighter out of their mother's purse, as she lay sleeping on the seat. They had all been watching a video together, but the mother had fallen asleep. The seven-year-old child allegedly was the one who set the fire, but all three children were playing with cigarette lighters. The mother, a single parent, stated that she found it hard coping with her children.
     Another four-year-old child, "Jason," set fire to a dressing gown hanging on the back of the door in his mother's bedroom. According to his parents, he had set small fires from an early age. His father smoked, and the evaluator thought the boy saw his dad with lighters and matches and was experimenting. The father stated that he hid the matches, but the boy was clever and managed to hide matches around the house. Both parents were very willing to include the boy in the junior fire-setter program.
The Delinquent Fire-Setter
     One fourteen-year-old, "Bryon," was part of a group of three boys who set fire to the bathroom at a high school. Bryon had a history of setting fires, including setting a porch on fire, a park bench, fires in empty buildings, non-abandoned cars, and several rubbish-bin fires. He had a history of drug abuse, running away from home, and truancy from school. His mother contended that his fire-setting behavior stemmed from his earlier child abuse by a pedophile who enticed him into his home over a period of time. The boy indicated a hatred of his father, and his mother seemed resigned to his behavior and did not know what he had actually been up to since he often stayed away from home.
     Another eight-year-old boy, "James," had been involved in a gang of children who had been lighting fires in the surrounding fields. The youth was caught setting fire to paper in the bathroom of his home, and was also caught by a school care-taker lighting toilet paper in the school bathroom.
     One fifteen-year-old girl, "Cheryl," used a lighter and an aerosol can to set fire to bags of clothing in the bedroom of her home following an argument with her mother. Her mother and younger siblings were in the house at the time of the fire. She was charged with arson with intent to endanger life. With a history of fire-setting behavior at home, she pleaded guilty to the charge and was turned over to foster care.
     Another female, "Brenda," was expelled from school for fire-setting. The fourteen-year-old had a history of criminal activity, including violence, arson and vandalism. Her mom described her as "out of control." The girl exhibited anti-social behavior, according to the mother, "due to boredom." She had been in prior trouble with the police for graffiti, threatening another girl with a knife, and setting fire to sheds at the rear of some flats.
The Severely Disturbed Fire-Setter
     One nine-year-old boy, "Frank," was defined as an "extreme fire-setter" with over fifteen fires. He showed no fear or remorse over fire-setting and got very excited with setting them. His mother explained that he had been setting fires since the age of three and was diagnosed with ADHD. He was also taking regular medications. The parents explained that he had no concept of right and wrong, and they were unable to control him. He had been expelled from school, and was often abusive to others, including the neighbors. He had harmed himself and thrown stones at passing cars.
     According to his extensive file, the boy set five fires in the first week after the visit with a representative from the London Fire Brigade's Treatment Program. Upon completion of the Program, the boy had been enrolled in a Special Needs school, and reports of fire-setting propensity had diminished.
     Another young eleven-year-old male was under a referral order from the courts after an arson attack on a school. He lived in a single parent home with his father. He got cross and upset when he could not do his work as well as other people. Other children laughed or teased him and he lost his temper and "hit out." When he loses his temper he withdraws from the world, hiding in what he called a ''turtle box," basically a large box that when things got too much for him he would crawl into and "chill." The treatment personnel contended that his fire-setting was an issue and believed it was obviously closely related to his anger management issues. He was an outsider at school and was often the target of bullying or teasing which accentuated his anti-social behavior.
     One fifteen-year-old girl, "Melanie," caused a fire at a residential home after barricading her room with furniture. After lighting the fire, she escaped through a window, breaking an arm in the process. She was hospitalized for two weeks on account of that injury. With a history of fire-setting behavior, she was a risk in terms of placement.
     Finally, seventeen-year-old "Mark" was charged with a bomb threat, and had a history of fire-­setting incidents and hoax calls. He had a history of learning difficulties, and had moved out of the house. One major fire was to a cricket club. He presented himself as an isolated young person with no close friends. Earlier tests indicated dyslexia, poor motor control skills, and ADHD. He received speech therapy for speech and language problems. When interviewed by the treatment staff, he presented himself as polite, compliant and somewhat naïve.

Recent Trends of the London Program

     According to one member of the London Fire Brigade, sixty percent of all fires set by youngsters that they respond to are deliberately set. A good number of these fires are rubbish or waste-bin fires. Since 1988, according to this official, the attention of the Fire Service has expanded to not only attending to and putting out the fires, but, also, to educating the public about fire safety. Now there is greater training, more practice, and a greater emphasis placed on intervention and education.
     Currently, around twenty-five people work in Community Fire Safety in the Greater London area. The program also now employs twenty-nine arson investigators, many of whom emphasize treatment. Similar to the United States, arson investigators in England do not have any authority to make actual arrests. However, if one is a suspect in a fire, they provide the information to the police who can then make the arrest. Further, there are a low percentage of arson offenses that actually go to court as most are sent by referral to the treatment program.
     Currently there are now five magazines which address the issue of fire prevention and fire safety. One such magazine, Engineering & Fire Prevention, is published by the Institute of Fire Engineers. There is also the London Firefighter magazine.
     According to another investigator interviewed, in recent years there has been a massive increase in vehicle fires. In fact, it has increased by ten-fold. This is attributed to a drop in the value of scrap metal. Before, one could turn in their unwanted vehicle to a scrap yard, but now that the value had dropped for scrap metal, one just leaves their vehicle on the side of the road (where youth or vandals can torch it). Because such "End of Life" vehicles are abandoned, youth set them on fire after vandalizing them. Unfortunately, surveillance cameras do not actually document these kinds of crime, so such youth are seldom caught.
     London is unique in that it is made up of 1,005 villages. One such village may be affluent, another economically deprived. Fires are generally set in the poorer, socially-economic deprived neighborhoods. There is also a pattern of fires being set in transitional communities. That is where ethnic and/or first generation immigrants (i.e., East Indians) are beginning to try to move out into mainstream society. Now a lot of Asian minority groups are getting involved in setting fires.
     Another pattern that perhaps is unique to London is the use of fire as a form of "race hate" crime. There is an element of "turf warfare" and some small fires, car fires, and refuse fires can be viewed as symbolic acts with some racial and/or hate crime element to them.
     Similar to delinquent patterns in the United States, in London there is a lot of exploitation, "like­-on-like" type crime. That is, members of one's own ethnic group fight other members of the same ethnic group, including using arson as a form of retaliation or as an act of confrontation.
     Gangs are increasingly united to "bait the police." According to this arson investigator, gangs would start a fire, the fire brigade would arrive, then the police would arrive, and the gangs would taunt the police. Because the fire brigade would then also get taunted and attacked by the neighborhood gangs as they tried to put out the fire, the London Fire Brigade initiated a pilot intervention program. This is where some fire fighters in the first unit or engine to arrive at the fire would video-tape the crowd. The bystanders that appeared in repeat videos would be singled out, and those who were filmed taunting or attacking the fire fighters would be tracked down.
     Some of these youth would then be screened and the program would train a select group into what it takes to become a fire fighter. They would be brought to the fire station, educated about all the work that goes into training, rescuing, and fighting fires. Then a select few would go through a "Mini Academy," including wearing the heavy gear and maneuvering tight quarters that actual fire fighters must negotiate when fighting a real fire.
     The logic behind this intervention program was to show these "representative leaders" from the gang, or lower income communities, into what it takes for one to become a fire fighter. Through this, it was hoped that some delinquent youth would gain a greater respect for what fire fighters do, and some might even wish to actually apply and train to become fire fighters themselves.
According to the captain whose special intervention program this is, there have been "success stories" with some of these "special recruits" who eventually apply for the fire academy and are selected, complete the vigorous training and get employed as fire fighters. There is even a video on the effectiveness of this special program which also then adds to a greater diversity of fire fighters by race and socio-economic background.
     According to another fire captain interviewed, over thirty percent of the boys in a Pupil Referral Unit (the equivalent to America's Continuation High Schools) were documented as having been fire-­setters. There is even a special category for them (Young Offenders Institute). Further, there is now the perception that there are more females setting fires than ever before. Particularly for girls, fire­-setting seems to be a "Cry For Help." And, finally, across the United Kingdom, there is not a large group of fire fighters. Each county maintains its own fire brigade. London is viewed as being "more sophisticated" as it has dedicated teams available 24 hours a day.

Closing Thoughts

     With the commitment to developing a Fire Safety Intervention and Education Program, in 2000 Joanna Foster was hired as a full-time coordinator to develop programs of intervention and treatment. According to her, the approach used is to work with the kids in their own homes. "We do this to give parental family advice with respect to fire alarms, and clearance for an escape route in case of fire. We also can observe which youngsters need mental health and other types of intervention services."
     School fires in the United Kingdom cost over a 100 million pounds per year. This is a major problem (as it was when I first examined fire-setting by juveniles in the U.K. in 1988, two decades ago). School fires are attributed to revenge and attacks of anger and rage. The problem with U.K. schools - and why school fires are so costly - is that the style of building includes a lot of open areas, or meeting squares. There is also the presence of more trash bins, and greater opportunities for youngsters to set fires without being observed.
     School fires in the U.K. are costly as well due to the lack of sprinklers in the older schools. From the turn of the 20th century to World War II time, sprinklers were fitted as a matter of cost. That is, when schools could afford to put them in, or retro-fit, they would build sprinklers. Due to the expense in adding sprinklers, officials now think of different ways to avoid putting them in school. As one fire investigator observed, "The U.K. 'lost faith' with sprinklers."
     Occasionally, according to one arson investigator I interviewed, there is the pattern of a "serial arsonist." However, this pattern is more typically the work of a young adult, not a juvenile.
     Currently, there are two typical counts of arson: Either, one, arson as a criminal damage, and/or, two, arson with intent to damage life. This second charge typically carries a life sentence, meaning that one found guilty of such a charge is sent to prison for life.
     Finally, in recent years the focus has been on personal safety. That is, there is a major effort to educate the general public on the need to be "fire aware," be pro-active in fighting arson, and educating the public on fire safety issues. Also, parents and school officials are urged to be "heads up" on teaching their children proper fire safety education, and to look for the warning signs of behavioral problems in youngsters that may be indicative of fire-setting issues. In this regard, a brochure is available to the British public free-of-charge. Titled Fire & Arson Investigator: Your Safety First, this pamphlet is available in eight languages (Chinese, Turkish, Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Undu, Bengali, and Greek).