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MILFORD —A toddler played with matches and set a mattress on fire last year. Teens played with fireworks and nearly injured four firefighters in Milford last year.
Milford’s fire prevention officer says these are two examples of a huge problem across the nation: kids setting fires.
In Milford in 2006, there were nine such instances and seven of them were intentional. The nine instances involved 15 kids.
“We’ve had children as young as two who have set fires,” said Capt. Jason Smedick, the town’s Fire Prevention Officer.
The toddler was copycatting a grandparent who lit a candle with a match. But the toddler didn’t light a candle; the child set a mattress on fire. Smedick hopes to remind parents that children are watchful and prone to emulate what they see.
The article goes on to discuss the Juvenile Firesetting Program offered by the Milford Fire Department.
