In early November, Courtney Roberts evacuated her rental home with her two children in tow when her 3-1/2-year-old's bed became engulfed in flames, a result of her daughter playing with a lighter.

Roberts said her daughter had never shown any interest in fire before the incident. But the Sunday afternoon flight from a home filled with heat, smoke and flames changed everyone.

"Now, she's just traumatized by it all," Roberts said.

Capt. Mark Kirchgesler of the Rapid City Department of Fire & Emergency Services said that children starting fires continues to be a significant cause of fires within the United States.

"Children themselves are the predominant victims in juveniles-started fire," he said. It seems innocent enough at first.

Fourth of July celebrations marked with sparklers, birthday celebrations featuring cakes topped with lit candles, and toasting marshmallows on an open fire are all fun occasions. But those flames may reinforce a fascination with fire.

Juvenile fire-setting occurs in more than half of all arson fires in the United States, according to Lt. Damon Hartmann of Rapid City Department of Fire & Emergency Services.

This is a statistic the Rapid City Fire Department would like to change.

Hartmann teaches the Youth, Fire-setter, Intervention, Rehabilitation Education, or YFIRE program, in Rapid City. The intervention program has been in existence since 1999. But it has helped hundreds and juveniles and their families to break this devastating fascination.

"It varies from year to year, but on average, there's about 24 juveniles required to go through the program, and half of those are court ordered," Hartmann said.

Children wind up in the program after being caught setting fires by their parents, guardians, teachers or law enforcement agencies, including the police.

"Half are caught by their parents. The parents call us asking for help," Hartmann said. "I've had 3-year-olds to 18-year-olds go through my class."

The rest are those who have been interviewed by the police, sometimes charged with arson, and the courts order them through the program. Studies done in 2004 show 43 percent of all arson arrests were people younger than 18, but Hartmann said that many additional fires go undetected, unreported and unresolved, and no data is collected on those fires.

As part of the curriculum, Hartmann requires one or both parents or guardians to attend the 1-1/2-hour class with the child. He said having the parents attend serves as an extra learning tool, because they can repeat these intervention practices if they see signs of regression in their children.

"We need to always include the entire family, because sometimes the juvenile is acting out due to a family issue," he said.

Because the youths are unable or unwilling to handle the issues themselves, they act out to draw attention to themselves.

"So they act out by setting a fire," he said.

In his program, for some of these juveniles, it was one of the first times that they have had someone actually concerned about them and wanting to help them. It is common that a few children think that because they have experienced fires on birthday cakes, firecrackers or on the stove top, they know how to control it. It may turn out to be one of the most devastating mistakes of their lives, Hartmann said.

"Like birthday candles, they think 'I can blow it out; I can control it.' And then they find out they can't," he said.

Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.

Call for help

For information about the YFIRE program or to set up a session, call Lt. Damon Hartmann at 394-5233.