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FireFighter Arson- What Can We Do About it?
It was with intereset that I read an article today about a NY FireFighter charged with making hoax fire calls. Whilst it's not strictly arson, is it the precursor?
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24789162-5012748,00....
A NEW York fireman has been arrested for crying fire - when there was no fire.
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta told NY1 television overnight that the rogue firefighter had been secretly calling comrades out to non-existent emergencies.
Commissioner Scoppetta did not describe the motives of what he called "simply outrageous" actions.
The firefighter faces up to seven years in jail if convicted of making false reports.
Now before EngineCo and others get a bee in their bonnet about me being "Anti-American"- I couldn't give a flying crap what part of the world this happens in. This one happened to be on the web today.
What can we do about it?
Framing this in the same process we use for emergency management, what can we do to Prevent, Prepare, Respond and Recover?
How do we prevent these people from joining the fire service?
How do we prepare for such an event and the fallout this it is likely to bring both internally and externally?
How do we respond? By this, think about the PR nightmare as well as internally within the ranks.
And how does a department recover from the fallout?
A couple of PDF reports that may be of interest from Australia on this issue can be downloaded at-
Firefighter arson : part 1 : incidence and motives
http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/bfab/bfab016.html
Firefighter arson : part 2 : profile
http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/bfab/bfab017.html
Firefighter arson : part 3 : a case study
http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/bfab/bfab018.html
The report makes an interesting observation:
Despite the small number of incidents, the impact of firefighter arson can go well beyond the
damage caused by the fire itself. The community relies on and trusts its fire services, and the
lighting of fires by members of those services can undermine public confidence, particularly
given the accompanying media attention. This can affect community support in very direct ways,
such as funding of rural fire services. The fire service could suffer loss of morale or have its effectiveness compromised by the disruption of allegations and investigations. Damage to the fire service’s reputation could interfere with its ability to attract high quality recruits.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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If anyone is intereseted, and hasn't seen it, the USFA did a Special report on Firefighter Arson in 2003- I'm still working my way through it, but it can be downloaded at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/tr-141.pdf
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on
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"How do we prevent these people from joining the fire service?"
A thorough criminal background check is about the best way I can think of that could weed out those with unsavory pasts. But it won't catch those that join up and then turn rotten.
"How do we prepare for such an event and the fallout this it is likely to bring both internally and externally?"
Clear-cut SOPs should spell out expected behavior of all members, and consequences of failure to comply with expected behavior guidelines. SOPs should spell out disciplinary procedures which are thoroughly vetted by legal counsel. Disciplinary procedures should never be vague.
"How do we respond? By this, think about the PR nightmare as well as internally within the ranks. And how does a department recover from the fallout?"
Good question; my thought is that the members get on with the job and get over it. The alarms keep coming in, and they need to be answered. The department leaders have to send clear messages to the public condemning such behavior and the fact that the perps no longer work for the department.
On a side note regarding members making hoax calls: We had one of these jackasses many years ago. As I recall he made exactly four calls reporting structure fires. As a result of some heads-up dispatchers and other factors I can't mention, he was busted on scene at the fourth call. It wasn't front page news, and in fact I don't even think it made the papers.
As far as any effects on the members, you would have had to go far to see a more pissed-off bunch of firefighters. But we got over it in short order, and fifteen years later there are only a few who can actually remember his name.
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Here's a bit more on the alledged incidnet I referenced at the start of this discussion:
http://wcbstv.com/local/nyc.firefighter.arrested.2.885438.html
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A thorough criminal background check is about the best way I can think of that could weed out those with unsavory pasts. But it won't catch those that join up and then turn rotten.
It also will only vet out the ones with a history.
Is profiling the answer or is too cost prohibitive?
South Carolina Forestry Commission
White male, age 17–26
Product of disruptive, harsh or unstable rearing environment
Poor relationship with father, over-protective mother
If married, poor marital adjustment.
Lacking in social and interpersonal skills Lack of stable interpersonal relationships
Poor occupational adjustment, employed in lowpaying jobs
Fascinated with the fire service and its trappings
May be facing unusual stress (family, financial or legal problems)
Average to above-average intelligence but poor to fair academic performance in school
Researchers have found that firefighter arsonists are usually relatively junior, in their first three years of service.
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firefighting is NOT a high security clearance job
How long before that changes? Should it change?
I've been through national security clearance checks with previous employment with the Government here and it is one of the most invasive things I've ever been through (And I was only going after a low level clearnace).
Given the nature of what we do, where we go to do it, etc, maybe more scrutiny of our appliacants in this world of heightened security is a matter of when, not if....
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