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CHICAGO
- A new, innovative, hospital-based program being launched nationally
this week by the University of
Michigan Health System could help prevent fire-setting and accidental
burns among America's children and teens, reducing the devastating
effect that arson and fire currently have on the nation's property
and health.
 The
Straight
Talk program, to be unveiled April 25 in a presentation at the
annual meeting of the American
Burn Association in Chicago, offer hospitals, fire departments,
juvenile courts and schools a proven way to communicate with kids
and teens about the tragic and painful medical consequences of burn
injuries. It was designed by experts at the U-M
Trauma Burn Center, who are respected nationwide for their treatment,
research and injury-prevention education efforts.
"We hope
we can stem the tide of fire experimentation, juvenile arson and
 burn
injuries by sharing our community-based approach to helping children
understand what fire can do to them and to others," says Pamela
Pucci, R.N., B.S.N., the U-M injury prevention educator presenting
the program. "We want every hospital, fire department, teacher
and parent to know there's something they can do to stop the needless
suffering that can result when children and fire combine."
According to
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, more than half of all people
arrested for arson in the U.S. each year are under the age of 18.
This statistic is the tip of the iceberg, however, as fire-setting
behavior by juveniles often goes unreported. Over half of elementary
school children admit to experimenting with fire sometime during
childhood, and without intervention, fire "play" can escalate
to more dangerous behavior. Juveniles start more than a third of
the fires that kill children under age 6, and civilian fire deaths
are on the rise, totaling 4,045 in the year 2000.
The rise in
young burn victims and fire-starters led U-M burn experts to design
Straight Talk, an intensive program for high-risk children ages
8 to 17 who have been cited for arson or displayed fire-setting
behavior. It has already been proven to prevent nearly all recidivism
in 132 young arsonists and fire-setters who participated in the
initial program at the U-M, as compared with 37 percent recidivism
among 100 comparable young people who did not go through the program.
Straight Talk
brings at-risk kids and their parents into a burn unit or hospital
for a day-long, first-hand look at what their actions could do to
themselves or to others - including the fire fighters who also take
part in the program. Participants can be referred to the program
by the juvenile court system, a local fire department, school officials,
or their parents.
"After
several years of development and evaluation at UMHS, Straight Talk
is now ready to be implemented across the nation," says Pucci.
"We will soon offer training sessions at our Trauma Burn Center
for hospital staff who want to start similar programs in their communities."
In addition
to the Straight Talk training program, the UMHS Trauma Burn Center
injury prevention team has produced a powerful, realistic and moving
video aimed at all children, teens and adults, called "In an
Instant..."
The video takes
viewers inside the stories of children and teens who suffered painful
burn injuries through accidents or carelessness with gasoline, go-karts,
hot water and matches. The video follows them through their treatment
and lets them tell viewers in their own words what they have gone
through physically and psychologically, and how important it is
to be careful around fire and flammable or hot liquids.
The children's
stories are interspersed with footage of the different stages of
burn treatment, and interviews with fire fighters who have risked
their lives in fires, medical staff who have cared for burn patients,
and with Pucci and Paul Taheri, M.D., M.B.A., the director of the
U-M Trauma Burn Center. In addition to showing the medical consequences
of fire, the video also emphasizes important prevention tips and
cautionary messages.
"By giving
kids, teens and adults a glimpse of the excruciating treatment,
lifelong scarring, and risk of death that can begin literally in
an instant with the striking of a match or a careless spark, we
hope to drive home the message of the importance of caution and
prevention," says Taheri, who is an associate professor of
surgery; division chief of Trauma, Burn and Emergency Surgery; and
assistant dean at the U-M
Medical School.
The video,
available for only $100 to non-profits like fire departments and
schools, delivers a poignant message about the medical repercussions
of fire - a message often left out of other educational fire-prevention
videos that focus on property damage. The cost includes two video
tapes of different lengths: a 28-minute version and a 9-minute version.
Both "In an instant..." videos were written and produced
by Victor/Harder Productions, Inc.
Thomas Taddonio,
M.A., director of the U-M
Trauma Burn Resource Center, envisions that "In an Instant…"
could be shown at school assemblies, fire department community events,
Scout meetings, and other occasions.
He also hopes
that educators, fire fighters, community agencies will order and
use it as part of their fire-prevention efforts. Hospitals and emergency
responders will be able to use it to educate their own staff about
the important of rapid delivery of specialized burn care to increase
the chances of survival and good medical outcomes.
Pucci emphasizes
that Straight Talk, including the video "In an Instant…"
is not a "scared straight" program. Rather, it's a powerful
educational tool that can open the eyes of children and teens to
a side of fire they have never seen: the potential pain and suffering
that deliberate or careless actions could cause. She also notes
that the program can be customized to meet the individual needs
of the presenting institution or group.
Hospitals that
send representatives to a U-M Straight Talk training program will
watch an entire all-day Straight Talk session being held for Michigan
children who have been referred to the program.
They will also
receive a manual on implementing Straight Talk at their institution
in cooperation with local fire officials, a CD-ROM, slides, brochures,
sample packets of information and home safety equipment such as
smoke detectors that they can customize and give to participants
at their sites, the two "In an Instant…" videos and
another fire prevention video.
For more information
on Straight Talk or "In an Instant…" visit the Injury
Prevention section of
www.traumaburn.org or call (734) 763-7757.
Special notes
on this release
Past Straight
Talk participants, and children profiled in "In an Instant…"
are available for interviews. A video package of footage is also
available.
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