North Carolina County Starts Program to Address Teen Arsonist Problem

Authorities in Buncombe County, North Carolina, are creating a new program to fight a sudden increase in arsons committed by teenagers.

The county had 24 fires set by teens in 2014, including a 10-year-old charged with several felonies. That was well above the average of about eight fires a year intentionally set by teenagers.

The key component of the new Firesafe Together program is education for the teens and their entire family, Deputy Fire Marshal Terry Gentry said. It also gets help from other agencies, based on the needs of the teens.

The reasons children set fires range from curiosity to a cry for help to thrill-seekers to children with major psychological problems, Gentry told the Asheville Citizen-Times.

“It’s not just fire departments’ problem when kids set fires,” he said. “It’s everybody’s problem.”

The program is tailored to each teen’s needs, said Breena Williams, who serves as the administrator of Firesafe.

“Every kid is different, that’s why we do an evaluation,” Williams said. “It is for the entire family, not just the child.”

When teens leave the program, officials will follow them to make sure they keep applying the lessons they learned.

“We’re not just concerned with no, they’ve not had any more fires,” Gentry said. “We’re trying to get an idea with that youth, what’s going on in their life.”