A Community-Based Program for Juvenile Firesetters
Eugene R. Bumpass M.D.1,
Royanna Just Brix M.S.S.W.1, and
Douglas Preston 2
1 The Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas
2 The Dallas Fire Department
In 1981 the Dallas Fire Department began a new program for juvenile firesetters. Based on an interview graphing technique that helps the juvenile firesetter to correlate triggering events with feelings leading to aggressive firesetting behavior, the program is staffed by fire department personnel who are trained by psychiatric faculty of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas. Comparisons with the city's previous program demonstrate the new program's effectiveness in preventing the recurrence of firesetting behavior as well as its costefficiency. Similar programs have been successfully adopted in Houston and Fort Worth.
