CHILDREN USING MATCHES CAN IGNITE OTHER PROBLEMS

Children who play with matches, or cigarette lighters, could be looking for a spark of attention or a way to raise a red flag.

And, if these warning signs go unanswered, today's call for help could lead to tomorrow's tragedy.

Patricia T. Mieszala, president and founder of Burn Concerns Inc., has some harrowing statistics to support her claims.

Of 100 people who die in fires set by children, 85 are children. Children playing with fire caused an estimated 24,000 house fires and killed 450 people in 1991.

Cape Girardeau Fire Lt. Paul Breitenstein initiated the drive that brought Mieszala, a registered nurse, to the Drury Lodge for a two-day seminar titled "Juvenile Firesetting: A Community Problem."

The seminar, attended by firefighters from Southeast Missouri, Kansas City, St. Louis, Lee Summit and Independence, resumes today at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m.

A recent fire that killed eight children in Carbondale, Ill., underscores a point Mieszala at the seminar: that children play with fire to gain attention.

Breitenstein said the Carbondale tragedy focused on the woman who left the house and neglected the children.

What seemed to be lost, he said, was the accessibility of matches or a lighter for the children to play with them.

"No one seemed to ask how many times the children played with fire before the tragedy occurred," he said.

Mieszala said the critical time to detect warning signs is when a child is between 1 and 5.

"If you can find out what the child is trying to say by playing with matches or trying to start a fire, you can eliminate a lot of pain later," she said.

And, if the matches or lighters are accessible, a greater chance exists that the child will use them to express himself.

"It could start out as a need to satisfy curiosity but lead to something as complex as trying to express anger for things that are going wrong inside the home or in a child's life," Mieszala said.

Some signs of risk for children 5 to 13 include mischievous children who are often impulsive, have a low frustration level, have a short attention span, act like a bully, feel neglected or unwanted and demonstrate a low self-esteem.

Signs of extreme risk for children 10 to 17 include children being ruled by impulses, being defiant and resentful, fighting with peers, having hostility to authority, being unable to feel or express guilt and feeling isolated.

Mieszala said a community can prevent juveniles from setting fires if adults recognize these signs and seek help for their juveniles, through counseling, a hospital or mental health clinic.

Adults also can avoid problems if they identify their children's needs on a consistent basis.

The seminar is being held to make professionals aware of the problem and to demonstrate how they can control it.