Ep. 003 Youth Fire-Setting & Misuse of Fire with Kathy Hook

Welcome to the first episode for DFPCs Fire and Life Safety (FLS) Section's! This month FLS Section Chief Brunette is interviewing Kathy Hook, Fire and Life Safety Educator and Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Specialist with the Colorado Springs Fire Department. As the program lead for the nationally acclaimed FireFactor program, Kathy has a passion for assisting youth and their families who have been involved in youth-caused fire incidents with the goal of education and prevention.

Kathy has taught the Colorado Risk Reduction Networks Youth Firesetter Intervention certification class ; she also has been awarded the Fire Educator of the Year for the State of Colorado.

Learn more:
Unfortunately, children misusing fire is the leading cause of child fire casualties. Younger children are more likely to start fires in their home where older children and teenagers are more likely to start fires outside. To show the impact of fires set by youth in our community, consider these facts:

• Over one million dollars of property loss has resulted from youth set fires in Colorado Springs over the past five years.
• Over 1,000 children have been referred to the Colorado Springs Fire department for youth misuse of fire incidents over the past eight years.
• Youth arson is on the rise and is the fastest growing juvenile crime in the nation.
• Nationally, 85% of all children killed in fires, die as a result of a fire they started themselves.
• Fire and burn-related deaths are the second leading cause of accidental death of children under the age of fifteen.