Every summer, fire departments across the country see an increase in intentionally set fires. Many of these fires are set by juveniles. In fact, in a one week period of June 2008, the Arvada Fire Department issued eight tickets that involved Juvenile Firesetting and were tracking down three additional suspects. According to FBI statistics, fifty-four percent of ALL arson arrests are children under the age of 18.

Most people think that fireplay by children is not that big of a deal when, in fact, the opposite is true. In 2002, there were approximately 13,900 structure fires that were caused by fireplay with 210 deaths, 1,250 injuries, and $339 million in direct property damage.

According to the United States Fire Administration, there are four classifications of firesetters: Curious, Troubled, Delinquent /Criminal, and Pathological. The Curious firesetter generally has a lack of understanding of the destructive nature of fire and has unsupervised access to lighters or matches. The Troubled firesetter has set two or more fires and uses fire to express emotions. The Delinquent firesetter uses fire to destroy or as an act of vandalism. Their fires typically involve schools, open fields, trash dumpsters, or abandoned buildings. The Pathological firesetter has set many fires and may use their fires in rituals or to destroy specific property.

What surprises most juveniles are the consequences. Anyone within the Arvada Fire Department's boundaries who intentionally sets a fire may be charged with any of the four classifications of Arson, Criminal Mischief and other charges. The legal age that someone can be charged with a crime in the state of Colorado is 10 years of age. If convicted, the juvenile and their parent may have to pay restitution to the fire department for their services to put the fire out and to whoever owns the property that was damaged. They may also have to pay court costs. Often times, the convicted juvenile is instructed to attend a Juvenile Firesetting class and/or complete community service hours.

"Even if you didn't mean to set the house on fire, the fact that you set something on fire that lead to the house fire will get you into trouble," said Arvada Fire Safety Educator Scott Pribble. "Don't make us ruin your summer. Don't even play with matches and lighters."