Playing with fire?

Is your child playing with fire?

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.

Some of the signs of regular fire setting are:

• Small burns 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

In a typical year, North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service attends around 3,200 fire related incidents. Of these, over half have been started deliberately. However, by addressing the issues earlier and sensitively, this number can be effectively reduced.

Advice for parents and guardians

Our team of trained advisors can help by providing advice for both the young person and parents or guardians. We can, by agreement, visit your home or make arrangements to meet at a community centre or a other location where the young person may feel more comfortable.

We can:

• Arrange for free home fire safety advice and smoke alarms for your home, if required.
• Make sure matches and lighters are locked away and out of reach of children and young people. Child resistant lighters are available from the Fire Service.
• Carry out regular checks for signs of fire setting such as burns on carpets, beds or furniture.

You should:

• Never leave a child alone in the house, even for short periods of time.
• Explain to your child how dangerous fire can be.
• Ask for help, our service is free of charge.

If you wish to make a referral please contact us using the details below

For information and advice call FREEPHONE 0800 074 0064.

Or email safeguarding@northyorksfire.gov.uk