Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Dec 17/99) - When it comes to young firestarters, intervention is a key to extinguishing what could become a fatal habit, says someone who specializes in juvenile arson.

Jeffrey Thomas, who has a PhD in Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado, spoke at a recent fire services workshop in Yellowknife.

"Most fire services recognize there is a problem with youth fire setters," he said.

If youth are starting fires in Yellowknife, it apt to be because of boredom, he said. And though it's not nearly as dramatic as gang activity in a place like Los Angeles, a fire does not discriminate -- it can be just as fatal here as a big U.S. city, he said.

If a young arsonist is apprehended, the fire department needs to play a role in finding out why the fire was started.

There are a handful of basic reasons youth set fires, he adds.

General curiosity and simple delinquent behaviour are among the reasons. For some kids, setting fires is actually a cry for help because of some deeper problem like abuse, he said. Some fires are set to cover up other activities while mental disorders can be the cause, he said.

Fires stemming from serious mental disorders are rare, Thomas said.

"Curiosity is far and away the most common reason," he said.

The key is to get to a youth firestarter in a hurry, he adds.

"If you don't intervene, the behaviour continues and it just gets worse. Fire departments know that."

John Gould, assistant fire marshal for the North Slave region, said several fires in the North are started by young people. Gould was among fire service staff attending the workshop.

In 1998, the latest year which complete numbers are available, Gould said 14 fires were started across the NWT and Nunavut by kids under 12 years of age. Another 13 fires were started by youth ages 12 to 16 that year. Across the North, there were 132 fires in 1998.