Fire messaging: a qualitative exploration of how adults teach children about fire

Abstract

Purpose: Research indicates that young people’s early experience of fire can influence what and how they learn about fire. In turn, early fire-learning can influence how people come to use it later in life, including whether they engage in maladaptive use, i.e. firesetting. Little is known about the underlying mechanisms of fire-learning. Horsley (2022) proposed that young people learn key messages about fire from adults and society as a whole and that these messages are, at times, skewed and problematic, which was the basis for this study. The research question was: ‘how do adults educate young people about fire in the UK/ Ireland’? Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 fire-educators who had regular contact with young people. Data was analysed using abbreviated Grounded Theory. Steps were taken to ensure reliability and validity, including a Cohen’s Kappa calculation, indicating an agreement level of .9 between two raters. Findings: Four core themes were identified: 1) The Fire Narrative; 2) Enabling Growth; 3) Risk Management, and; 4) Communication, each of which have sub-themes. Limitations, originality and practical application: The main limitation is that this study used a self-selecting sample and, thus, participants may be more invested in fire education than other adults in the UK/ Ireland. Nevertheless, this is the first psychological study exploring how young people are educated about fire in the UK/ Ireland. The findings are discussed, highlighting important policy, practice and research implications, including for firesetting reduction.