Paulding Wildfire: Kids Playing With Lighter Caused Blaze, Says Investigators

PAULDING COUNTY, GA -- Tips in the investigation of a wildfire in Paulding County have led to four children believed to be responsible for starting the blaze that burned over 120 acres, according to county Fire and Rescue investigators.

The children, ranging in age from 7 to 13 years old, had been playing with a lighter in a wooded area on Tuesday, according to a Paulding County release. They allegedly lit dried leaves on fire and were unable to extinguish the blaze as it quickly spread.

The entire region is under no-burn orders and warnings due to dry conditions.

The names of the children will not be released, but Paulding County Fire & Rescue will be enrolling the four children and their families in the Youth Firesetter & Intervention Program, according to the release.

The program, which is court sanctioned and can be court mandated, is sponsored by the Georgia Public Safety Training Center and the Georgia Firefighter’s Burn
Foundation.

"Juvenile firesetting is a serious, dangerous, and costly behavior," writes Steve Mapes, a Fire and Rescue spokesperson. "Children are responsible for 46 percent of all fires deliberately set in the United States and one in four fire deaths is attributed to children playing with fire.

"Nearly 80,000 structure fires, 300 deaths and more than 1.2 billion dollars in property damage were caused by children last year. And, more than 50 percent of arson arrests nationally are juveniles. This is a very serious indicator of the pervasiveness of this problem."

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