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With stark images and useful information, a monthly seminar shows kids what playing with fire can lead to.
By MONIQUE FIELDS
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 22, 2001
LARGO -- When they entered the room, some of them were scared. Most didn't want to be there. But the juvenile judges and arbitrators ordered them to the Pinellas Juvenile Firesetters Network or face harsher consequences.
Some set fires or were with friends who did. Others attended because their parents saw similar trouble coming down the track.
"This is your get-out-of-jail-free card," said Irene Gaccek, a Clearwater fire inspector who serves as the program's coordinator. "You only get to use it one time."
She's not kidding.
The program was designed so that youngsters can attend only once. It was modeled after a successful program in Broward County for kids who set fires and their parents nearly eight years ago. Firefighters across the county were having a hard time keeping up with all the young kids found setting fires and were spending a lot of time talking with parents and their children.
Since then, several fire departments have banded together to provide volunteers and help teach one seminar each month. If both parent and child complete the 105-minute program, the child receives a certificate he can show to the judge or arbitrator, who wipes their record clean. If they don't, the child is likely to make an appearance in court.
For that reason, most parents clear their calendars for the seminar. Last week, they accompanied children who set fires at school, in garbage cans, in the garage and in a PVC pipe.
The youngest was 5; the oldest was 15.
Almost all of them were boys. All but two were white. And they came from middle-class families. Last year, 539 children under age 18 were arrested and charged with arson in Florida, according to the Department of Juvenile Justice. Of those, 42 lived in Pinellas.
You shouldn't be surprised.
On July 1, a 9-year-old St. Petersburg boy played with fireworks, set his room on fire and sent thick, black smoke and soot throughout the home.
Two days later in Seminole, a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old started a fire with fireworks and burned most of the family's house.
And last week, police said a 10-year-old from Tarpon Springs set a double-wide mobile home on fire after he placed a lit birthday candle in a toy car, which rolled under a piece of furniture and set it ablaze.
The 10-year-old was charged with arson, a felony. The 4-year-old, 6-year-old and the 9-year-old are all headed to a firesetters program.
Last week, the 11 attendees and their parents watched a fire safety video, whose star was disfigured by a fire he set in his family's garage.
In separate rooms at Largo City Hall, the parents and their children were taught about the dangers of fire and what to do in case of an emergency.
Upstairs, parents learned their children could be suffering from attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Other triggers: alcoholism, divorce or a pet's death, Gaccek said.
Parents were also surprised to learn a fire can double in a matter of seconds and fill a home with poisonous fumes in minutes.
"It kind of gave me a new respect for fire," said Doug Jones of Tampa, whose 9-year-old son from Palm Harbor attended.
They also viewed a graphic news account of a fire that claimed the lives of children. Horror swept across their faces as a camera panned a scene and showed the outlines of two tiny bodies as they clutched a stuffed animal.
"That's what scares me," said Teri Roy of Pinellas Park whose 12-year-old son attended the seminar. "My boy could end up doing something to hurt the family."
Downstairs, the children, still stunned by the pictures of the disfigured boy, crawled on the floor and looked for a safe exit out of a room.
The older kids turned in essays about their situation and how it could have been much worse.
"There was a burst of flames and then it was gone. We did that a few times because it looked kind of cool," one wrote. "If one of the buildings around us had caught on fire, I could, and probably would, be charged with arson."
"I really hope you can help me," wrote another. "I know I'm here because everyone wants the best for me."
When they all came back together, the parents were teary-eyed. Their children were smart about fire safety and beat their parents in a head-to-head quiz.
That's one reason Gaccek said she knows the program works.
She also bumps into people on the street and they tell her what a difference it made in their lives. They have straightened out their family situation or secured counseling for their children. The county's juvenile arbitration program doesn't keep specific statistics on the program, but it reports only 10 percent of young people who complete one of their programs is a repeat offender a year later, said Marty Fogle, director of juvenile diversions.
For their part, the children say they have learned their lesson.
They know setting fires is against the law. They know they chose friends who got them into trouble. They also know if there's a next time, they may not get off this easy.