Medium Cost Interventions
7. Youth Fire Awareness Education
Youth fire awareness education programmes aim to prevent arson and fire misuse by teaching children about fire safety, firesetting consequences, and responsible behaviour.
These programs are typically delivered through schools, fire services or community partnerships, including interactive lessons, fire safety drills, peer-led education, parental involvement, high-risk youth specialist interventions.
Education increases fire safety knowledge, reduces curiosity-driven arson, and lowers rates of youth arson incidents
Curriculum development & materials: £5,000-£15,000
Educator training: £2,000-£10,000
Delivery (sessions, workshops, outreach): £10,000-£30,000
Digital tools & eval systems: £3,000-£8,000
Total: £20,000-£60,000
Planning & stakeholder engagement: 1-2 months
Curriculum setup & training: 1 month
Pilot delivery: 2-3 months
Full rollout: 6-9 months
Total: 10-15 months
Refresh training & updates: £2,000-£5,000
Material replenishment: £1,000-£3,000
Monitoring & eval: £2,000-£4,000
Annual Maintenance Cost: £5,000-£12,000
Effectiveness
In England, deliberate fires account for 45% of all fires attended by Fire & Rescue Services, with 51 fatalities from deliberate fires in 2018-2019.
However, structured youth firesetter programmes reported significant reductions in repeat firesetting, with 'clear evidence of reduced recidivism'. Another UK study piloting firesetter psychoeducation found 100% of participating young people desisted from firesetting behaviour at follow-up.
On the other hand, untreated youth firesetters show high repeat behaviour, with 20% repeat firesetting, 8-10% going on to commit criminal arson, and 57-66% engaging in general reoffending.