Arson Awareness Week is May 7–13, 2023

Arson Awareness Week is May 7–13, 2023. This year the theme is, “Understanding and Mitigating Youth Firesetting Issues.”

Youth firesetting is a problem throughout the United States and around the world. Fire misuse behaviors in children may be attributed to issues such as curiosity or experimentation, underlying struggles with impulse control, emotional regulation, social/interpersonal skills, childhood trauma, or other behavioral health conditions. Children observe adults using matches and lighters but may not be taught about important fire safety practices. They may also observe unsafe uses of fire in media, videos and gaming.

PVFC encourages you to look for more information on this topic at the links below. We are also doing a social media campaign this week with the hashtag #AAW2023 to help inform our community.

Arson Awareness Week resources include:

• Prevent Youth Firesetting Flyer PDF
• Youth Firesetting… What You Can Do Brochure PDF