Rural and remote communities

Excerpted from Part 4: Special Issues - TAPP-C: Clinician’s Manual for Preventing and Treating Juvenile Fire Involvement.

Considerations

In rural and remote communities, children may be more exposed to fire-related activities, such as burning garbage, fire pits and wood stoves for household heating.

Children may also be more likely to have greater access to fire, fire-related materials and accelerants. Indeed, they may be expected to routinely use fire or fire-related materials as part of household responsibilities, and/or they may be taught to carry matches or lighters for safety or survival.

Caregivers and other community members may perceive the notion of attempting to limit access to fire materials as unrealistic and even impossible because of extensive reliance on such materials in daily life and their ready availability throughout the community.

Intervention modifications

Restricting access is still a fundamental component of any intervention to reduce fire involvement by children and teens.

Special attention should be paid to working collaboratively with parents in order to determine an access restriction plan that is workable for the family. If it is unlikely that the child’s access to fire materials can be restricted, especially in the community, then it may be necessary to work with the family to ensure high levels of supervision.

It may also be especially important to involve other adults from the community with whom the family is connected in order to develop an effective plan. Moreover, some education may need to take place at the community level to address community attitudes toward restricting access to fire materials.

While it is essential to emphasize restricting access in the short term, it is also important to plan how to gradually reintroduce fire-related responsibilities as soon as is appropriate. Reintroduction should be done in a planned, supervised manner.

The clinician should become familiar with resources available in the family’s community, if necessary.

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