Juvenile Fire Lighters Intervention Program

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:26): I have a question for the Minister for Emergency Services. Can the minister tell the council about the impact of the Juvenile Fire Lighters Intervention Program in the northern suburbs?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (15:26): I thank the honourable member for his question. As members may be aware, the MFS runs an outstanding program that assists families to address the problem of children playing with fire. Running in the state for 25 years now, the Juvenile Fire Lighters Intervention Program is delivered by operational MFS firefighters who have been specially trained to work with children. Children aged between three and 18 years can be referred to the program by concerned parents and/or caregivers or by direction from the juvenile justice system.

I am very pleased to advise that late last year it was reported that the program is being correlated with a decrease in the number of arson attacks in the Elizabeth Local Service Area between October 2014 and September 2016. Through ongoing efforts by both the MFS and parents, this government is proud to support a program which is making such a positive contribution to community safety in our northern suburbs and other areas around the state. The program invites children into operational fire stations, where firefighters will sit down with participants and run through the potential risks of lighting a fire, while also reinforcing important safety information.

The program also provides safety tips for parents, carers, friends and relatives who may look after children, such as keeping matches, lighters and fire starters well out of the reach of children; teaching young children that they must never touch matches and lighters and getting children to notify an adult if they see them lying around; as well as praising children when they do so. The program also encourages parents to avoid using candles wherever possible if they have young children, to have torches and battery-powered fake candles as safer options, or to keep candles up high and out of the reach of children and never leaving a child in a room with a candle burning.

Finally, the program also provides the opportunity to ensure that families have an up-to-date home fire escape plan and to practise this plan to ensure that everyone understands what to do in the event of a fire. It is a testament to the great success of this program that it has achieved a participant success rate of 100 per cent, which it has held since July 2014, contributing to an overall participant success rate of more than 95 per cent in its 25-year history.

Importantly, this effective and highly successful program is absolutely free to parents, as well as completely confidential. I encourage all members to spread the word about this great program to parents right across the state. I congratulate the MFS on working to deliver an outstanding service to our communities. It serves as a fine example of how the Metropolitan Fire Service, along with other agencies within the emergency services, is not just committed to responding to incidents but also to working incredibly hard to prevent them from occurring in the first place.