Fires started by young children take a terrible toll in our country. Every year hundreds of people die and thousands more are injured in these fires. The damage to buildings exceeds $250 million. The attached information gives additional insight into this dramatic problem.

In Tampa, something is being done to address this problem. Dr. Robert Cole, a psychology professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center and a nationally respected authority on teaching fire safety to young children, has been invited to give a workshop for hundreds of firefighters, preschool teachers and daycare personnel in Tampa at the request of the Florida State Fire Marshal. He will be teaching a special program that has been proven to dramatically reduce the number of fires started by young children. Dr. Cole will be in Tampa on Thursday, February 25th and Friday, February 26th. .

Dr. Cole has developed a remarkably successful model program for teaching young children about the dangers of fire. This program not only has helped to reduce the number of fires that children start, but it has dramatically reduced repeat incidents of firesetting. It has achieved a 74 percent reduction in the number of children setting repeat fires since 1983.

A man with a caring mission, Bob is a “fire educator’s educator.” While he deals with a serious subject, he is able to keep the process lively, clear and simple, using games and videos. He has been interviewed on television and radio in more than 50 cities throughout the United States. The play safe! be safe!® program he demonstrates in workshops all over the country can give your viewers tips about teaching important fire safety techniques to their own children.
Bob’s work began 20 years ago when he and several colleagues conducted a major study, sponsored by New York State on children and firesetting. The research appeared in the Journal of Clinical Child Psychology and has been reported by The New York Times and other national publications.

Bob conducts workshops and has had extensive media experience in communities throughout the U.S. and Canada. He has developed games, videos and other educational material for local officials to use in fire prevention education.

Using the play safe! be safe! program, Bob has shown educators how to reduce fireplay through early childhood education. It’s also helping police, social workers and fire officials deal effectively with firesetting children to prevent repeat incidents.

                                      U.S. FACTS ABOUT KIDS AND FIRE

1.)   Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death of all people from age 1 to age 34, accounting for nearly half of all deaths in young people up through age 24. The top 5 causes of death for children ages 3 – 5 are : 1. Unintentional Injuries (41%) 2. Cancer (14%) 3. Birth Defects (7%) 4. Homicide (6%) 5. Heart Disease (3%)

2.)   Fire related deaths account for 18% of fatal unintentional injuries in children ages 3-5. They are the second leading cause of fatal unintentional injuries in this age group, behind only Motor Vehicle Incidents (40%).

3.)   Children's fireplay is the number one cause of fire related deaths in children (35%) under the age of 5. It accounts for more deaths in this age group than heating (14%), electrical (9%) and smoking (7%) fires combined.

4.)   Every year children start over 71,000 fires, 17,000 of these at home. These home fires cause over $245 million in property damage each year.

5.)   One out of every 8 residential fires started by a child injures or kills someone.

6.)   Over 2,100 people are injured in fires started by children and over 250 die each year.

7.)   Nearly three-quarters of all people who die in child-started fires are children aged 5 and under.

8.)   More than half of all children have played with fire by the time they reach age 13.

9.)   Children who play with fire come from all classes and races, though low-income children are more likely than others to play with fire.

10.)   More boys than girls experiment with fire and far more boys are involved

with fires large enough to be reported to fire departments.

11.)   Most children who start fires aren’t emotionally disturbed, but are normal, well-adjusted youngsters who experiment out of curiosity.

For more information go to www.playsafebesafe.com