New Columbia County Program Aims To Bring Down Number Of Teen Arson Cases

By: WJBF Staff | WJBF-TV
Published: February 03, 2012

Columbia County, GA --

According to fire crews in our area, more than 50 percent of all deliberately set fires are started by teens.

Now, Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue and the Columbia County Juvenile Court system have joined forces with a new program to help bring those numbers down.

The program is called the Youth Fire Prevention and Intervention Program. It's a 12-hour training course that provides information, training, and the opportunity for teens to learn the devastating effects that playing with fire can cause.

Captain Daniel Gwinn (Martinez Columbia Fire Rescue) "I'd rather spend 100 hours of my time trying to prevent these fires from happening than ten minutes doing an interview in a burn center. I've seen what fires can do to people, I've been around it...I've seen what damage it can do to children and families," said Captain Daniel Gwinn, of Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue.

If you'd like more information on the Youth Fire Prevention And Intervention Program, you can call 706 863-7745.