Community interventions for juvenile firesetters: a survey of two national programs

Twenty-nine local affiliates of two national organizations that sponsor community-based intervention programs for juvenile firesetters completed a 32-item survey on the characteristics of the populations served, the services provided, program operations, and obstacles to service delivery. Sixteen programs that used the intervention approach developed by the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency were compared with 13 programs that used the approach developed by the National Firehawk Foundation. The comparisons revealed few significant differences between the two groups. Both types of programs emphasized detection and initial assessment of the firesetter and relied heavily on fire safety education as an intervention measure, although Firehawk programs offered a service that matched firesetters with volunteer fire fighters who serve as appropriate role models.