Introduction
Children with fire risk behaviours pose a risk to themselves and others. The possibility of serious consequences increases the need for active intervention and is relevant to the exercise of duty of care by the child's care team.
Fire risk behaviour can include the lighting of matches or lighters without the approval or supervision of a primary carer (generally there is no intention to start a fire) or the intention to deliberately start a fire, leading to property damage, injury, or loss of life.
For further advice and supporting information, please refer to Fire risk behaviours - advice.
Procedure
Case practitioner tasks
- Advise any prospective or current carer about a child or young person's known or suspected fire risk behaviours. Discuss this with kinship carers or with community services organisations staff, who will discuss it with residential carers or foster carers. Carers must be provided with all the facts and likely scenarios that may eventuate in undertaking such a placement.
- Work with the care team to develop an active fire safety strategy for the care placement. Include the following in the strategy:
- an assessment of the child’s behaviour to determine the severity of the behaviour and the likely risks (it may be appropriate to seek an assessment by the Firelighting Consequence Awareness Program)
- strategies for managing or modifying the behaviour and addressing related causal issues. Consider a referral to an appropriate service for education and support to address the fire risk behaviour. Consider how to monitor movement and behaviour during high fire danger times.
- Include the need for a fire safety strategy in the case plan and incorporate this in the looking after children (LAC) placement referral record and care and placement plan.
- Monitor the implementation of the active fire safety strategy as part of LAC and in collaboration with the care team.
- Discuss with your supervisor to determine whether you should place a young person with fire risk behaviours on the high-risk youth schedule – see High risk youth panels and schedules.
Supervisor tasks
- Endorse the fire safety strategy prepared by the case practitioner and the care team.
- Consult with the divisional manager, client support services, regarding any equipment purchases, installation or modification of a carer’s home that are necessary in the active fire safety strategy.
The department will pay for approved equipment to be supplied and installed in the carer’s home as outlined in the active fire safety strategy.
Placement agency tasks
- Advise any carer about a child’s known or suspected fire risk behaviours. Carers must be provided with all the facts and likely scenarios that may eventuate in undertaking such a placement.
- Work with the care team to develop an active fire safety strategy.
- Monitor the implementation of that strategy as part of LAC and in collaboration with the care team.