TAPP-C: Clinician's Manual for Preventing and Treating Juvenile Fire Involvement

TAPP-C* (The Arson Prevention Program for Children) is an intervention program to reduce fire involvement and to promote fire safety among children aged two to 16 years, TAPP-C is collaborative program involving fire service and mental health professionals working together to eliminate firesetting by children and adolescents. TAPP-C was developed as a joint venture between the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Office of the Fire Marshall of Ontario and the Toronto Fire Services.

TAPP-C: Clinician’s Manual for Preventing and Treating Juvenile Fire Involvement is an invaluable guide designed specifically to address firesetting and all other types of inappropriate fire involvement by youth. It provides a conceptual framework and useful techniques for mental health clinicians working with children, teens and their families.

Excerpts from TAPP-C: Clinician’s Manual for Preventing and Treating Juvenile Fire Involvement are available by following the links below:

Table of Contents (PDF version only)

Part 1: About the Program / PDF

• What is TAPP-C?
• Why is there a need for a brief intervention designed specifically for fire involvement?
• What does the treatment component of TAPP-C involve?
• What outcomes can be expected from the treatment component of TAPP-C?
• For whom is the treatment component of TAPP-C appropriate?
• What training is necessary to use this manual?
• How is this manual organized?

Part 2: Caregiver Treatment Sessions

• Session 1: Fire Safety Begins at Home: Defining and Rewarding Fire-Safe Behaviours
  • Introduction / PDF
• Session 2: Fire Safety Continues at Home: Monitoring Access to Ignition Materials and Learning SNAP™
• Session 3: Fire Safety Away from Home: Preventing Situations that Lead to Fire Involvement
• Session 4: Consequences of Fire Involvement: What to Do if It Happens Again
• Session 5: Termination: Reviewing Fire-Safe Behaviours and Recognizing the Caregiver’s Accomplishments

Part 3: Child Treatment Sessions

• Session 1: Fire Safety Begins at Home: Defining and Rewarding Fire-Safe Behaviour
  • Introduction / PDF
• Session 2: Fire Safety Continues at Home: Monitoring Access to Ignition Materials and Learning SNAP™
• Session 3: Fire Safety Away from Home: Preventing Situations that Lead to Fire Involvement
• Session 4: Choices and Consequences: Alternatives to Fire Involvement
• Session 5: Termination: Reviewing Fire-Safe Behaviours and Recognizing the Child’s Accomplishments

Part 4: Special Issues / PDF 

• The reluctant or resistant caregiver
• Religious, spiritual and cultural fire-related practices
• Rural and remote communities
• Group homes and residential facilities
• Comorbid conditions
• Preschoolers
• Adolescents
• Child welfare

References / PDF

Learn more about ordering a copy of TAPP-C: Clinician’s Manual for Preventing and Treating Juvenile Fire Involvement.

More information about the TAPP-C program is available at the official TAPP-C website.

What readers said about TAPP-C: Clinician’s Manual for Preventing and Treating Juvenile Fire Involvement.

“Predictable and preventable injuries are the leading cause of death and disability among children. It is tragic that children and teens continue to die in fires they started. The TAPP-C program works with youth and their caregivers to prevent and treat fire involvement. Caregivers learn to model and reinforce fire-safe behaviours in the home, and youth learn to act in responsible and fire-safe ways by developing self control and problem-solving skills. This manual is a great resource for all clinicians faced with this challenging and deadly behaviour.”

Dr. Robert Conn
President and CEO
Smartrisk

“The authors of this manual have provided a very practical and useful guide to addressing the very difficult behaviour of firesetting. Through detailed session descriptions, clinicians learn to adapt evidence-based approaches utilizing a cognitive-behavioural model (with children and their parents) in dealing with this specific behaviour problem. This manual is a must-have for clinicians who have firesetting children and/or teens on their caseload.”

Leena K. Augimeri, M.Ed.
Director, Centre for Children Committing Offences,
Earlscourt Child and Family Centre

Authors

Sherri MacKay, PhD
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Joanna Henderson, PhD
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Carol Root, PhD
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Diane Warling, PhD
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

K.B. Gilbert, M.Ed.
Office of the Fire Marshal of Ontario

Janice Johnstone
Office of the Fire Marshal of Ontario

*TAPP-C is a registered trademark of the Office of the Fire Marshall of Ontario, used by permission of the Ontario Ministry of Public Safety and Security.

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